Redbird Minor League Weekly: Rodriguez Keeps Mashing at Double-A, Baez's September Is Something Else
By Caleb Hughes ·
Redbird Minor League Weekly covers the last 7 days of action for the Cardinals farm system.
Rodriguez Just Keeps Going
Rainiel Rodriguez (AA, C, Rank: 1) went 5-for-19 with two home runs, two RBI, and two walks this week at Springfield, a modest line by his own recent standards but still another data point in one of the more remarkable September runs in the system. Over his last 30 days at Double-A, he is slashing .372/.456/.721 across 103 plate appearances with 9 home runs, 3 doubles, 22 RBI, and only 15 strikeouts. The contact rate over that stretch sits at 72.9 percent at a 50.7 percent swing rate, numbers that describe a hitter who is attacking the zone without losing control of what he chases. For the full Double-A season he is hitting .328/.408/.591 with 23 home runs, 22 doubles, and a 10.2 BB% across 402 plate appearances. He is 19 years old and has now been at Double-A for the better part of a season.
The 60 power tool has always been the headliner, but the contact feel running alongside it is what makes this stretch difficult to dismiss. A 72.9 contact rate over a 30-day stretch while posting a .721 slugging percentage is not a hot streak propped up by luck; it is a hitter making better decisions than most 19-year-olds have any right to make against Double-A arms. His 55 hit grade may already be underselling where the tool is right now. The honest conversation around his profile still runs through the defense. A 45 field grade behind the plate, below-average mobility, and receiving mechanics that are still developing all remain real questions. If he eventually moves to first base or DH, the offensive bar climbs and the ceiling calculus shifts. But a teenage catcher posting an .456 on-base percentage over a month of Double-A action is not a profile you set aside for later. The Cardinals have the system's most interesting player, and he has spent September reminding everyone of it.
Baez Turns Springfield Into a One-Man Show
Jesus Baez (AA, SS, Rank: 21) had one of the week's most productive hitting performances in the system, going 8-for-19 with three home runs, a double, 5 RBI, and 2 walks across his Springfield appearances. His 30-day numbers at Double-A are staggering for a player with his scouting profile: .400/.447/.847 across 94 plate appearances, 11 home runs, 5 doubles, 29 RBI, and a 16.0 K% that has held completely steady from his season-long mark. He now has 25 home runs and 68 RBI at the Double-A level alone this year, combined with 39 home runs and 109 RBI across the full season. Last year at High-A he hit .244 with 14 home runs across 416 plate appearances in a mix of organizational stops; this version is a different player, at least offensively.
The scouting profile on Baez is a 60 power tool paired with a 45 hit grade and a walk rate that sits at 3.9 percent at Double-A this season. The low walk rate is the core concern baked into his projection as a second-division regular or strong-side platoon at third base: when the power carries, the profile works, but there is very little on-base cushion if pitchers start to exploit the pull-centric, first-pitch aggression. His swing rate over the last 30 days has climbed to 57.7 percent with a 75.9 contact rate, which describes a hitter who is hunting and connecting rather than hunting and missing. None of that addresses the underlying vulnerability to advanced pitching that will try to work him away or keep him off-speed, and his below-average speed and fringe range make the defensive picture at shortstop a short-term arrangement at best. But September in Double-A belongs to him. Eleven home runs and 29 RBI in a single month is production that defies simple explanation.
Quick Hits
- Mason Molina (AAA, LHP, Rank: 52) · delivered his best two-start stretch of the Triple-A season this week, throwing 10.1 innings across two appearances, allowing just 1 earned run on 5 hits with 10 strikeouts and 3 walks, generating 21 swinging misses along the way. Over his last 30 days at Memphis he has been a different pitcher entirely: 1.30 ERA across 27.2 innings, a 32.4 K%, and a walk rate that has dropped to 8.1 percent. The season ERA at Triple-A still sits at 4.45, a fair reminder that this is a six-week run built on top of a rougher first half, but a left-handed starter sitting 92-94 with a 55 slider who has posted back-to-back strong outings this late in the year is at minimum making the up-down conversation more credible heading into 2027.
- Jack Gurevitch (AA, 1B, Rank: 25) · went 8-for-17 with three home runs, a double, and 7 RBI at Springfield this week. The counting line is spectacular, but the surrounding context at Double-A is complicated: a 39.4 K% over his last 30 days and a 3.0 BB%, a dramatic shift from the 15.6 BB% he posted at Single-A Palm Beach earlier this season. His 55 hit grade and 55 power grade describe a player with real tools, and his 2026 line of .283/.360/.542 with 32 home runs in 542 combined plate appearances is legitimate production. The contact rate at Double-A (61.7 percent over the last 30 days) and the widening walk gap between levels are the questions that will define whether this is a second-division first baseman or a Quad-A outcome. Weeks like this one keep the ceiling argument alive.
- Liam Doyle (AA, LHP, Rank: 3) · has a 1.88 ERA across 24 innings with 32 strikeouts, 12 walks, and a 34.4 K% over his last 30 days at Springfield. The walk rate (12.9 BB%) is still the central concern for a 60 fastball/60 slider starter projecting as a potential number-three, but the run prevention has been genuine. His season ERA sits at 3.76 across 103 innings with 130 strikeouts. The fastball-slider combination already misses Double-A bats at a high rate; the changeup development and fastball command over a full rotation are the remaining hurdles before the mid-rotation ceiling becomes more than a projection.
- Sandro Santana (AAA, LHP, Rank: 57) · was nearly untouchable in a short outing this week: 3.1 innings, no hits, no earned runs, 2 walks, and 5 strikeouts, with 13 swinging misses on 52 pitches. His season at Memphis has been a genuine surprise given how deep he sits in the organizational rankings: a 2.35 ERA over 7.2 innings at Triple-A with an 18 K in a 35.5 K%. The mid-80s sweeping slider and upper-90s fastball combination out of a low left-handed slot was always the profile; the walk rate (25.8 BB% at Memphis) remains the hurdle between a useful up-down arm and a real setup option. But whiff rates north of 50 percent over the last 30 days are not something you ignore regardless of the control concerns.
- Brandon Clarke (RK, LHP, Rank: 16) · was assigned back to the FCL this week after his Springfield start, which makes the 4.0 IP, 1 hit, 7 strikeout, 0-run outing a little harder to contextualize in real time. His season at High-A showed a 1.93 ERA and 41.4 K% over the last 30 days before the assignment, and the Springfield start (50 percent strikeout rate in 14 batters faced) suggested the stuff was playing. The 40 command grade and a 14.0 season-long BB% remain the core issue. His ceiling as a left-handed reliever with a 93-95 fastball and a slider that can generate swings remains intact; the road back up from the FCL will need to run through cleaner strike-throwing.
- Deniel Ortiz (AA, 3B, Rank: 26) · was placed on the 7-day injured list on September 15, with no confirmed diagnosis available. He last appeared on September 12. In the 14 days before the placement he was hitting .324/.419/.500 with 2 home runs in 43 plate appearances at Springfield, continuing a solid Double-A season that now reads .279/.392/.474 with 10 home runs across 266 PA at the level. The timing is unfortunate with the season winding down, though his 2026 body of work at Double-A is a strong foundation heading into the offseason.
- Jurrangelo Cijntje (AAA, RHP, Rank: 15) · threw 10 innings over his appearances this week, allowing 2 earned runs on 7 hits with 8 strikeouts and 4 walks, adding 17 swinging misses in the process. His last 30 days at Memphis have been his most encouraging stretch at Triple-A: a 3.21 ERA over 28 innings with a 25.0 K% and a walk rate that has tightened to 8.3 percent. The season ERA at Memphis is 4.61 and the command grade sits at 40, so one productive month does not close the case on the control questions. The switch-pitch profile and 60 fastball give him a starter's ceiling if the walk rate continues to trend down; the floor is a power reliever who gets through lineups once on deception and velocity alone.