South Side Sox Top Prospect No. 18: José Rodriguez

José Rodriguez

Shortstop
5´11´´
175 pounds
Age: 20
SSS rank among all shortstops in the system: 1
2021 SSS Top Prospect Vote: 21
2020 SSHP Top Prospect Ranking: 32

José Rodriguez received a signing bonus from the White Sox in February 2018 and was inserted into the DSL lineup just a few months later. He turned out to be one of the few bright spots on a miserable 2018 DSL squad, slashing .291/.318/401 in 60 games with 13 doubles, three triples, two homers, 23 RBIs, 16 stolen bases, nine walks (3.8%) and 29 strikeouts (12.1%). Rodriguez even participated in that year’s DSL All-Star game.

In 2019 with the AZL White Sox, Rodriguez started hitting more homers while avoiding any significant decline in any of the other batting categories (besides strikeouts). In 44 games spanning 188 at-bats, Rodriguez slashed .293/.328/.505 while producing seven doubles, three triples, nine homers, 31 RBIs, seven stolen bases, nine walks (4.5%) and 45 strikeouts (22.5%). He walloped southpaws by slashing .423/.423/.788.

Rodriguez did commit 13 errors in his 32 games with the AZL team this year, so he still needs improvement on that front. He has played multiple positions during his first two seasons, and may be establishing himself as a power-hitting utility infielder going forward.

Expect Rodriguez to begin 2021 with Kannapolis.