Uncommitted Spotlight: '27 C/OF Evan Rodriguez

Rodriguez provided all of the offense for the Pioneers in their 3-1 win against Santa Monica. He finished 1-3 with an RBI single in the 3rd and an RBI fielder's choice in the 5th that scored 2 runs on a throwing error. His single was a sharp ground ball that found a hole past the Vikings diving SS into LCF. I liked his approach in the box. He worked counts and didn't get cheated at FBs in the zone. He was able to keep his approach simple with RISP and put the ball in play to cash in for the Pioneers. There's not much swing and miss with Rodriguez as he's only K'd 6 times this season in his 63 PAs. He has speed and runs well on the base paths and in the OF. He played RF today, but his primary position is behind the plate at catcher. He’s a versatile bat for the Pioneers that has made major contributions in his sophomore season. His Avg. is now .420 (21-50) with 15 RBIs and has an OBP of .508. He’s the No. 43 ranked player in CA for the ‘27 class and the No. 4 ranked catcher in the state and for good reason. He can hit at a high level, is a plus defender at multiple positions, and has an athletic profile that has room to continue to fill out as his high school years progress. Rodriguez has been a major force for SV in 2025 and is a huge reason why they are 11-5 this season. A must know 2027 in CA.

Already high on my list of top 2027 players not only on the Central Coast of California, but across the entire state of California each look at Rodriguez continues to tick him higher up that list. His feel to hit has shown consistently over the multiple looks at him and comfortable has me willingly to put “advanced” on the tool for him and having been a two-sport athlete for Simi Valley (slot receiver in football) that says a lot because there is potentially even more in the tank for Rodriguez as a RH hitter. Where I think the next step for him at the plate is going to come is in turning an advanced bat to ball profile with leverage in his swing into one that generates increased power impact. While I don’t think the athletic Rodriguez profiles to be a true power hitter there is an easy reason to project future pull side gap to pull line HR power and straight away CF to opposite line doubles in his profile. Those reasons come from the uptick in bat speed he has shown since my first look at him in June of 2024 to now with an increased ability to get the ball in the air with line drive carry that is playing in game with a trio of balls drive from RCF to LCF (double of the wall to LCF, single to RCF, and a barreled L-8). Additionally, I was impressed by his feel to handle spin against a heavy diet of it from the opponents RH pitcher. He was able to track and stay on spin for two of his hits while not missing a pair of FBs in hittable locations that amounted to the extra base hit and deep drive to CF. With an intriguing offensive profile the ability that Rodriguez continues to show defensively is also raising him up the 2027 board showing an athletic defensive profile behind the plate with sound arm strength (consistently 2.0-2.05 with accuracy on his pops), agility in the block and getting out of the crouch to field his spot and strength/softness in his wrists and glove to be a sound pitch presenter he looks the part of a strong defender at catcher. He also shows plenty of athleticism to profile at all three OF positions if one wanted to move him out from the rigors of catching and see where that would take his already high level offensive ability.

This was my first chance to get eyes on Rodriguez since he had a strong showing at the 2024 Future Games Tryout: VTA County giving strong consideration to being on Team California as just a Fr.. After a fall spent playing WR for the talented Simi Valley football program he is back on the diamond full time and his strong skill set was on full display. Playing in the OF after catching the first two games of the week he looks very comfortable moving around the OF where his football athleticism translates into a three position OF defensive profile (arm is strong enough to handle RF and speed could play in CF), but he is also strong defensive profile backstop who can stick there long term. As good as the defensive profile/athletic profile for Rodriguez is what the RH hitter can do in the batters box is even more impressive. The operation is controlled during the load with a consistent feel for his approach/rhythm and a strong feel for putting the barrel on the baseball at contact. He picked up a BH bunt early and added a line drive single to CF, but it might be the two outs he made that were the hardest hit balls both SAC fly outs one on a deep drive down the RF line and the other a laced line drive to deep LCF. Rodriguez is trending in the right direction for his Soph. season and heading into an important summer.

Evan Rodriguez, Simi Valley (CA), 2027
Positional Profile: C/OF
Body: 5-10, 160-pounds. Athletic frame with present strength,
Hit: RHH. Even stance with hands above shoulder. Athletic base engaged throughout. Keeps hands inside the ball. Quick to the zone.
Power: Higher launch angle that produces a lot of fly balls.
Arm: RH. C-75 mph. OF-77 mph. Quick over the top release.
Defense: 2.10-2.20 pop times. Athletic footwork throughout the play.
ATH: Steady body control throughout.