Photo: Doug Gray
It seems that the “Reds didn’t sign that guy from up the street” stories have been beaten into the ground so far they are started to melt as they get close to the Earth’s core. So let’s look forward to something that might benefit Cincinnati one day, and perhaps one day soon. Shortstop prospect Edwin Arroyo missed all of the 2024 season with a shoulder injury he suffered in spring training. In 2025 he spent under two weeks on the injured list back in April and otherwise remained healthy all year long. When the season ended he took about eight weeks off before joining Santurce in the Puerto Rican Winter League and on Saturday night he put together a big day at the plate.
Starting at shortstop and hitting 2nd in the lineup, Edwin Arroyo singled on a line drive in the top of the 1st inning. Two innings later he’d top that one as he doubled the opposite way, just out of the reach of a diving left fielder at the line. In the top of the 5th inning the 22-year-old came up with a chance to drive in a run and he came through as he laced a line drive single into right field. Arroyo would cap his night off in the 7th inning, this time from the right side of the plate for the first time in the game, and double into the left field corner.
The infielder finished the game 4-5 with a double from each side of the plate, two singles, a run, and an RBI. After spending his entire season in Double-A with the Chattanooga Lookouts where he hit for a solid average, but struggled to find his power coming off of the shoulder injury, he’s heating up in Puerto Rico. He’s only played in eight games so far during the regular season but he’s now hitting .313/.353/.500 with five extra-base hits and a stolen base.
While Edwin Arroyo had his big night in Puerto Rico, a little bit to the west in the Dominican Republic it was outfielder Hector Rodriguez having himself a strong day of his own. Playing with Escogido, Rodriguez led off the bottom of the 1st inning with a triple into center field. The 21-year-old would come back to the plate the next inning and this time he had a runner on second and his team was up 4-0. He made it 5-0 as he lined another triple, this one into the right field corner. He finished 2-4 on the day.
Through 29 games this winter, Rodriguez is hitting .282/.355/.455 with four doubles, three triples, three home runs, 12 walks, and 13 strikeouts. His .810 OPS is well above the league average, which was just .695 entering the night. That’s not bad for the 2nd youngest hitter in the league who has had at least 40 plate appearances (Rodriguez has 120). Among qualified hitters that .810 OPS also ranked 9th in the league. He now leads the league in triples.
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