Yorman Rodriguez optioned to Louisville

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Yorman Rodriguez — via Jamie Ramsey — Better Off Red[/caption]

The first player optioned to the Bats out of Spring Training is outfielder Yorman Rodriguez, news came out on Tuesday. Rodriguez will play his first games with Louisville this season after jumping from Pensacola to Cincinnati in September last season, making his major league debut.

The backstory on Rodriguez is fascinating. The 22 year-old has been in the Reds organization since 2008 when he was signed for a then-Venezuelan amateur bonus record of $2.5 million on his sixteenth birthday. He has since been a player to look at as a top prospect in the Reds organization. He is making his seventh appearance in the Baseball America Prospect Handbook, this season as the tenth best prospect in the system.

Yorman missed time in 2014 with an oblique injury but still put up worthy numbers. In 119 games he posted a .262 average and a career-high .331 on-base percentage. He isn’t going to hit a lot of home runs, but he has the ability to put the ball in the gap and run for days. He has plus speed on the base paths and in the outfield.

Baseball America sees him at his best in right field, because of his limited range in center field and plus arm that would fit best in right. The speed that he possesses was shown last season by stealing a career-high 12 bags for Pensacola. He has major league experience, but having him in Triple-A in 2015 will be a treat for the fans in Louisville that come out to the games looking for a highlight reel play.