Elmer Rodriguez

Rodriguez, formerly Rodriguez-Cruz, has been a prospect of note since his time in Boston's system -- he was traded to the Yankees last offseason for Carlos Narvaez -- but 2025 was a breakout season for the 6-foot-3 righty. He was promoted to Double-A on July 11 after stifling High-A hitters to the tune of a 2.26 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 99 strikeouts in 83.2 innings. From there, he logged a 2.83 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 77:20 K:BB in 66.2 innings over 12 starts in the upper levels, including one start at Triple-A. Rodriguez has a full arsenal of quality pitches, led by his sinker, sweeper and curveball, and his 8.2 percent walk rate at Double-A was the best mark of his career. His 54.5 percent groundball rate was the 12th best mark among all qualified minor-league starters in 2025, and among premium pitching prospects who haven't debuted, Rodriguez might be the best groundball artist out there. He also logged 150 innings -- 60.1 more than his prior career high of 89.2 innings in 2024. It's unclear what percentage of Rodriguez's 2026 starts will come in the majors, but he's on the 40-man and doesn't have any weaknesses, so he could be up for most of the year. Read Past Outlooks