Express RHP Yerry Rodriguez Named Rangers Reliever of the Month

ROUND ROCK, Texas – The Texas Rangers announced the organization’s minor league award winners for June on Thursday afternoon and Express RHP Yerry Rodriguez was named the Reliever of the Month. Rodriguez posted a 1.54 ERA (2 ER/11.1 IP) and .125/.222/.250/.472 opponent slash line over nine outings for Round Rock in June. He struck out 20 of the 45 (44.4%) batters he faced.

Rodriguez entered the month with a 6.38 ERA and lowered it to 4.50 by the end of June. He also collected 20 strikeouts to only five walks with a 0.86 WHIP. He never allowed more than one hit in any of his nine appearances and on four occasions, he did not allow any hits. Over a longer 15-game span from May 18-July 4, Rodriguez logged a 0.95 ERA (2 ER/19.0 IP) while holding the opposition 6-for-62 (.097).

The right-hander began the month by helping the Express collect a shutout over the Oklahoma City Dodgers (Los Angeles Dodgers affiliate) on June 1 at Dell Diamond. He teamed up with RHP Spencer Howard, RHP Josh Sborz and RHP Jesus Tinoco to post Round Rock’s first shutout of the season, a 4-0 victory. Rodriguez threw a scoreless eighth inning and struck out two while earning his third hold of the season.

His longest appearance of the month came on June 11 against the Tacoma Rainiers (Seattle Mariners affiliate) at Cheney Stadium. It was his first start since August 24, 2021. He tossed 2.0 innings and allowed one earned run while collecting a season-high five strikeouts. On June 25 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark against Oklahoma City, Rodriguez quieted the home crowd and picked up his second save of the season in a 1.1-inning scoreless performance that saw him face five batters and earn two strikeouts.

The 24-year-old has appeared in 29 games this season and is 2-0 with a 4.63 ERA (18 ER/35.0 IP). He has issued 20 walks to 44 strikeouts and opposing hitters are batting just .237 against him. His three saves are tied for the second-most on the team.

Rodriguez was promoted to Round Rock on August 2, 2021 and threw 30.1 innings over 13 games with four starts last season. A native of Santiago, Dominican Republic, he was signed by the Rangers as a non-drafted free agent in 2015. Since his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League in 2016, he has appeared in 99 games while making 49 starts and has a career ERA of 3.25 (112 ER/310.0 IP) in the minor leagues.

Round Rock gets set for game three of their six-game series against the El Paso Chihuahuas (San Diego) on Thursday night at Southwest University Park. Express LHP Taylor Hearn (1-0, 4.50) is currently scheduled to start against Chihuahuas RHP Thomas Eshelman (0-1, 6.16). First pitch is slated for 7:35 p.m. CT.

For more information about the Express, visit RRExpress.com or call (512) 255-2255. Subscribe to the E-Train email newsletter and keep up with the Express on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!