Rodriguez's raw power astounded Shelton.
The Minnesota Twins are in the middle of a rebuilding year, but one of the brightest spots of spring training has been the raw power of outfield prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez.
Despite being optioned to Triple-A St. Paul on Monday along with several other top prospects, Rodriguez left a lasting impression on the coaching staff during his time in big league camp.
Shelton Can't Believe What He Saw
In an article from The Athletic's Aaron Gleeman, Twins manager Derek Shelton talked about Rodriguez and the kind of pop he brings to the plate, specifically highlighting a home run from February 22 that caught everyone off guard.
"There's some bat speed there," Shelton said.
"Quite honestly, I thought he hit the homer off the end of the bat. When he hit it, it didn't sound flush. I even said, 'Oh, he didn't get it.' And it landed about 15 rows deep, so I don't know if we should use me as the barometer."
That kind of effortless power is rare and it's exactly the type of thing that gets a front office excited about a young player's future.
Rodriguez finished his spring stint hitting .421 across 19 at-bats with two home runs, and that second blast traveled 420 feet at an exit velocity of 106.6 miles per hour off Detroit lefty Brant Hurter, who has been tough on left-handed hitters throughout his career.
Rodriguez's Potential as an Everyday Player
Rodriguez is currently the Twins' No. 4 prospect per MLB Pipeline and ranks as the No. 74 overall prospect in baseball.
He's always had standout tools with elite bat speed, game-changing power and a walk rate that consistently sits above 20 percent.
The biggest questions around him have been health and strikeouts, as he has yet to play 100 games in a professional season and carries a strikeout rate around 30 percent.
If Rodriguez can stay on the field and cut down on the whiffs even slightly, there is a real path for him to become an everyday outfielder in Minnesota sooner rather than later.
The Twins' outfield situation is far from settled with guys like Trevor Larnach, James Outman and Alan Roden all fighting for playing time alongside Byron Buxton and Matt Wallner.
Rodriguez doesn't need to be perfect to earn a call-up this summer, he just needs to stay healthy and keep producing like he did this spring.
Where the Twins Stand
Minnesota finished 70-92 last season and sits at 4-11-1 this spring, so the wins and losses in Florida don't matter nearly as much as the development of young players like Rodriguez.
The regular season opens March 26 in Baltimore and the Twins aren't expected to contend this year, which actually works in Rodriguez's favor.
With less pressure to win right away, the front office can afford to be aggressive with their prospect timelines, and if Rodriguez tears it up in Triple-A early on, it would be hard to justify keeping him down for long.
For now, Shelton and the rest of the staff have seen enough to know that the bat speed is real and that Rodriguez's power plays at the highest level.
It's just a matter of when, not if, he gets his shot.