Is a Central Heights Star About to Make His Major League Debut?

Around five years ago, Grayson Rodriguez was a dominating force on the mound for the Central Heights Blue Devils.  His poise, his mechanics, and 90+ mph fastball caught the attention of many Major League scouts.

He ended up being the top draft choice for the Baltimore Orioles.  As impressive as he was, Rodriguez still had a lot to learn and a lot to develop before he was deemed ready to get the call to the Major Leagues.  He has spent the last 4 years rising through the Minor Leagues from Rookie ball all the way to Triple-A (The 2020 Minor League season was canceled due to COVID).  It has always been a question of when Grayson would someday get the call to join the Baltimore Orioles in the big leagues.

It would seem that time is fast approaching.

The Triple-A team for the Orioles is the Norfolk Tides.  It's the final step on the ladder before the big call-up.  Rodriguez started the year a little bit less than his usual stellar self, but, as of late, the 6-foot, 5-inch right-hander has been on fire. For the year, the former Blue Devil has a record of 4-1 and a 2.70 ERA.  In just his last two outings, he has struck out 20 in just over 11 innings of work.

Take a look at his recent dominance in these two clips.  Many of his pitches are just plain filthy.

Many baseball analysts and Baltimore fans believe the time is now to bring up the flame thrower. However, in a recent article, it's obvious that top management for the Orioles wants to make sure that Grayson is ready to make positive contributions to the Major League team, and that he's able to go deep into games on a consistent basis.  They are being very careful with their top prospect. 

Whether Rodriguez gets the call in the next few weeks or sometime in the second half of the season, we can't wait to see what this Nacogdoches County stand-out will achieve.