The Detroit Tigers signed Cris Rodriguez, a 16-year-old right-handed hitting outfielder from the Dominican Republic, for a $3.2 million bonus Wednesday as the headliner of its 2025 international class.
For the Tigers, Rodriguez is significant for three reasons.
Rodriguez is the highest-ranked international prospect ever signed by the Tigers, sitting at No. 4 on lists by Baseball America and MLB Pipeline. His $3.2 million signing bonus is the largest the Tigers have ever awarded in the international market. Most importantly, his raw tools position him as a potential superstar in the making.
C-ROD:Tigers sign international prospect Cris Rodriguez to record $3.2 million bonus
Only three players were ranked higher than Rodriguez on Baseball America’s top-100 list for the 2025 international class: Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki, Dominican shortstop Elian Peña (New York Mets) and Venezuelan shortstop Andrew Salas (Miami Marlins).
To learn more about Rodriguez, the Free Press interviewed Ben Badler, a Baseball America prospect expert for nearly 20 years with an expertise in international prospects, on a recent episode of the “Days of Roar” podcast, in which Badler evaluates Rodriguez.
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Who is Cris Rodriguez?
“You can’t miss him when you see him. He’s big, physical, 6-foot-4, 200-pound guy who hits the ball really, really hard. The raw power with him stands out right away. The physicality and the power, and he can run, too. For such a big guy, he runs really well. He’s a plus runner underway. If everything clicks, you have a guy who has a mix of power and speed for that power-speed threat. It’s definitely a power-over-hit offensive profile for him. We’ll see what the results look like once the Dominican Summer League games get started. But obviously shooting for big, big upside with Cris Rodriguez and really banking on that power and his ability to potentially tap into that power enough against live pitching once the games get started.”
What are Cris Rodriguez’s strengths and weaknesses?
“Strengths are definitely the physicality, the athleticism, the raw tools that he has. He can put on a huge show in batting practice. He can drive the ball with damage and impact. I think you’re going to see a guy who is going to get his share of mistakes (from pitchers) in the DSL in terms of the pitches that he sees, and I could see him putting up big home runs numbers in his debut year. The key will be, what does the strikeout rate look like in that first year? We will get a much better sense of the game-hitting ability once we have a lot more information and a lot more history of that against pro competition. And then the athleticism, the speed. He’s a big guy. I’m sure they’ll start him in center field and give him every opportunity to stay there. We’ll see how well he holds his speed going up. A guy like Julio Rodríguez with the Mariners not just held his speed, but got even faster as he moved up the ladder, so he can play center field. A lot of times, bigger guys fill out and slow down. Maybe he ends up at 230, 240 pounds and slides to a corner. But there’s a chance for impact power, potentially at a premium position if he’s able to maintain his speed and stay in center field.”
TIGERS TALK:What Tigers like about top international signee Cris Rodriguez, three others
What is Cris Rodriguez’s upside?
“The hope is, if everything clicks, that he’s somebody who could potentially hit in the middle of a lineup one day. When these guys are 16, just about to turn 17 years old, it’s hard to make a strong bet on that. If he’s able to make enough contact, and everything aligns, you could see him hitting 25, maybe 30-plus home runs. If he’s able to do that, whether it’s in center field or right field, either way, I think that would be a pretty good outcome.”
Any MLB player comparisons for Cris Rodriguez? (He reminds me of Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodríguez)
“I don’t know there’s anybody that jumps to mind immediately for him as a player comparison. Just that big, physical, athletic outfielder. There’s not that many guys running around who are like 6-foot-4 who have that kind of power-speed combination that he has. It’s a good raw tool set to be able to build on.”
Are you concerned about Cris Rodriguez as a pure hitter?
“That’s the key. I don’t think anybody questions the power that he has. It’s more about the approach. How does that play against pro pitching that we’ll see this year? The pitch recognition, the ability to adjust to offspeed stuff. I think we’ll get a much better sense of that this season. If there were no questions about that, if he was this super advanced, polished, pure hitter, we’re probably talking about somebody who’s getting probably the biggest signing bonus in the class, just based on the supplementary tools that he brings to the table, too.”
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How does Cris Rodriguez compare to famous Tigers signees in recent years: Cristian Santana in 2021 and Roberto Campos in 2019?
“He’s a very different player than those guys were. Santana, you were betting on a shortstop who you thought could hit. Campos, you’re really just banking on the power and hopefully enough hit ability. With Rodriguez, it’s more dynamic, maybe along the lines of a Jose De La Cruz (whom the Tigers signed in July 2018). Obviously, I’m sure the Tigers are better and hoping for better pure hitting ability with him, but De La Cruz has huge, huge power. It’s just he hasn’t been able to tap into it in games and the strikeouts have been a huge problem. That’s some of the risk there that’s involved with Rodriguez. But certainly, the upside is there if everything does click for that power to be pretty special.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
Listen to our weekly Tigers show “Days of Roar” every Monday afternoon on demand at freep.com, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
The Detroit Tigers have added a promising young talent to their farm system with the recent signing of their newest prospect. Scouts are buzzing about the potential of this player, with one insider even going as far as to say he has “big, big upside.”
The 18-year-old phenom has already turned heads with his impressive speed, power, and defensive skills. Standing tall at 6’4″ and weighing in at 200 pounds, he has the physical tools to excel at the next level.
With a strong work ethic and a desire to improve, this prospect has the tools to become a future star in the Tigers organization. Fans can look forward to watching his development and seeing him rise through the ranks in the coming years.
Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting new addition to the Detroit Tigers’ farm system. With his talent and potential, he could be a game-changer for the team in the near future.
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