Major Minor Matters 5/27

Héctor Rodríguez (CIN) Hushes Hecklers with Homers

There were no hecklers as far as I’m aware, it just made for great alliteration. Rodríguez has grown into meaningful power and substantially improved his approach over the course of his minor league career, ultimately sitting with a 106.5 mph EV90 and 36.1% chase rate, which is still bad but not nearly as bad as before. He makes a ton of contact — over 90% in the zone — and pulls the ball in the air a lot. His poor approach is more likely to manifest in lower on-base percentages than it is huge strikeout rates, and he might slug enough for it not to matter. I expect some opportunity for him in Cincinnati this summer.

No Trouble, Only Hits for Fenwick Trimble (MIA)

Trimble was a fourth round pick in 2024 out of James Madison, where he finished with a .369/.452/.635 line in his platform year. He’s a strong athlete, an above-average runner with a sturdy 6-foot-2, 195-pound frame, and enough pop to run into 15-20 home runs over a full 650 plate appearance sample at peak. The hit tool is the shakiest in his shed, and his contact rate has plummeted from a passable 76.3% in 2025 to a mildly concerning 69.8% in 2026. He’s swinging more often which may explain some of the variance, the rest is likely small sample variance rather than true skill regression. He finished Wednesday’s slate with five hits in six at bats including a double and a home run.

Zach Root (LAD) Slays Dragons with Nine Ks over Four Scoreless

Root was pretty good at Eastern Carolina, but he earned his stripes at Arkansas. You’re not a real prospect until you do it in the SEC (he said facetiously), but he pitched well against the best competition in the country with improved control and a knack for missing barrels. He’s since added a four-seam fastball to miss more bats and his slider and changeup have potential to be plus. It’s resulted in a gaudy 38.2% strikeout rate, though his control has clearly backed up early. His walk rate will be the key figure to watch. For now, he looks like a high-likelihood big leaguer with error bars that include outcomes between #3 starter and swing man.