Central STL News

August saw notable performances from several top prospects across Minor League Baseball, with St. Louis Cardinals catching prospect Rainiel Rodriguez among those making headlines.

Rodriguez, 18, hit his fourth home run in six games for Single-A Palm Beach. The home run, which left the bat at 106.1 mph and landed on the clubhouse roof at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, marked his 13th of the season at that level and his 20th overall. This achievement places him fourth on the Florida State League’s home run list, despite having played fewer games than the three players ahead of him and nearly half as many as league leader Alfredo Duno.

Other standout performances included Jaison Chourio of Lake County (Cleveland Guardians), who came close to hitting for the cycle with a four-hit game and three RBIs. Konnor Griffin of Altoona (Pittsburgh Pirates) continued his strong debut season by hitting his third Double-A homer and collecting his 19th home run overall, along with 64 stolen bases.

Kevin McGonigle of Erie (Detroit Tigers) showed progress at Double-A by hitting his eighth home run in 36 games at that level while maintaining a strong strikeout-to-walk ratio. Caleb Bonemer of Winston-Salem (Chicago White Sox) recorded his first two High-A home runs in one game, bringing his total to 12 homers in 101 games during his first professional season.

Pitchers also made an impact. Christian Oppor of Winston-Salem struck out six over five scoreless innings to earn his first win in 15 starts at High-A, improving on what has been a solid year statistically despite a challenging win-loss record. Lucas Braun of Columbus (Atlanta Braves) finished August with nine strikeouts over seven scoreless innings and has held opponents to a .225 average this season.

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