Scouting Report: Rockies' Rodgers

This is the third installment in a series in which MiLB.com looks at some of the game's most elite prospects from the points of view of opposing coaches, scouts and players. Interviewees have been kept anonymous for their objective evaluations. Check out our 2018 editions on Vlad Guerrero Jr. and Eloy Jiménez.
Before he even set foot on a professional field, Brendan Rodgers' name and pedigree carried with it considerable expectations. The Florida prep product went to the Colorado Rockies with the third overall pick in the 2015 Draft, a year in which he was listed as that edition's top overall talent according to MLB.com. He was to be the Rockies' next great shortstop, possibly one day destined to inherit that job from Troy Tulowitzki in Denver.

Four years later, things have changed, but Rodgers has kept climbing. Tulowitzki was traded a month after Rodgers' selection. Former first-rounder Trevor Story emerged to cement himself as Colorado's shortstop. Now baseball's No. 9 overall prospect, Rodgers has moved around to get work at two other infield spots, and all the while, he has excelled. Rodgers has been named an All-Star in three different leagues at three different levels. He's played in two Futures Games. And he's now one step below the big leagues. It's been an exciting -- and at times exhausting -- few seasons, a span of time Rodgers reflected on recently.
"At first, when I was drafted obviously there was a lot of pressure," the 22-year-old told Triple-A Albuquerque radio voice Josh Suchon in a recent Isotopes pregame show. "All my friends and family and everybody were like, 'Oh, big leagues.' Everybody was talking about that right off the bat. I knew I had friends who were already in pro ball who have been through the process of how hard and frustrating the Minor League career is, especially at the lower levels when you've got tough travel, tough bus rides and stuff like that. it was hard and frustrating at first. I think I've come a long way with how I deal with that. I just try to throw it all to the side and go out every night and play the game I've played and had fun since I was six, seven years old."
A month into the season, Rodgers is beginning to finding himself at Triple-A. After a slow start, Colorado's top prospect went 12-for-22 during a recent five-game span, bashing two homers, adding four doubles and a triple and driving in six runs. With Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr., Eloy Jiménez and Nick Senzel all getting the call to the big leagues already, Rodgers may be next in line among baseball's Top 10 prospects if he can maintain that momentum.
For the first 2019 edition of Scouting Report, opposing players and coaches gave their thoughts on Rodgers as he knocks on the door of the big leagues.

Pacific Coast League manager

On his initial impression of Rodgers
"I saw him play [in Spring Training] and was asking, 'Who is this guy? What's this kid's name?' just based on the way he swung the bat, the way he played second base. That's always a positive when you don't know who the player is but you're asking, 'What's that kid's name?' based on watching him swing the bat. The ball jumps off his bat. Honestly, he hammers breaking balls in the zone. If you hang a breaking ball to him, he's going to do some damage on it. He's an exciting young player, and the Rockies are lucky to have him."
On Rodgers' approach offensively
"He's going to make adjustments not only from at-bat to at-bat but from pitch to pitch. He got comfortable with how we were trying to attack him, and he did a good job making adjustments. I know they have a good staff over there, guys who have good experience in the game, and they've done a great job with him, making him realize how he's going to get attacked. He did a nice job making adjustments."

On trying to handle Rodgers at the plate
"He's definitely mature for his age, has quality at-bats, doesn't really chase out of the zone too much. Obviously he's young, he's going to chase out of the zone a little bit, but that's going to continue to improve as he continues to get more at-bats in this league and at the big league level. Hopefully he gets called up so we don't have to face him."
On his work in the field
"Obviously if I don't remember much about him defensively, that's a good thing. He fielded his position clean, made all the routine plays, was solid defensively. He's a solid young player. He's 22 in Triple-A, that's awesome. He's well on his way to being a pretty solid player. It's good for the Rockies because they have a lot of good young players at the big league level as well."
On the keys to Rodgers rounding himself out as an MLB-ready player
"I think he needs to have a routine, know his routine every day and stick to it. This is what I try to talk to my guys about. Especially when you get called up to the big leagues, you're going to have to do the same things that made you successful at the lower levels in the Minor Leagues, at the higher levels in the Minor Leagues, know the type of player you are, stick to your routine and I think everything should work out."

Pacific Coast League opponent

On what stood out most about Rodgers
"He's a solid player, has power to all fields. You can tell he can be a dangerous guy in the lineup. "
On Rodgers' strengths and weaknesses as a hitter
"He can be very aggressive at times and chase out of the zone. If he's only attacking pitches in the zone, could be a long night for the pitcher."
On his defensive profile
"Natural shortstop but he's currently blocked with that organization. [He] can become above adequate at any other position on the infield."
On the final steps to becoming Major League-ready
"Just stay consistent and understand the type of player he is and wants to be."

2018 Eastern League opposing pitcher

On facing Rodgers in Double-A
"The biggest thing with Brendan is you hear the name, and you know who he is. There's always a couple of those guys in a lineup, and he's one of them. [Vladimir Guerrero Jr.], [Pete Alonso], those are the guys who, when you see them in the lineup that day, your awareness kind of gets heightened and you focus up more than usual. He's a polished hitter. He understands what he wants to do at the plate, and for me, seeing a lot of guys who come out of high school, it takes them a while to develop that. I feel like he's had that for a long time. I've been fortunate enough to see him coming up through high school, played him in summer ball a couple times. We were kind of on the same circuit, and he's had an approach since Day 1. You know when you face him, you've got to execute. You've got to execute quick, and if you make a mistake, he's most likely going to hurt it. You've got to be smart with how you pitch him and set him up."
On how to attack him
"My biggest thing was I had to make him uncomfortable. When I face him, I'm commanding the inner third, and if I hit him, I hit him. I'd rather let him get on that way than a double that scores a run. By doing that, it kind of opened up to get to my best pitch, which is my slider. If I could get to my slider, I had a pretty good chance of getting him to chase. He doesn't do it very, very often, but if you throw a good enough one, you can get him to swing at it.
On pitching to Rodgers in a loaded lineup
"Honestly, I wasn't even worried about the other guys to be completely real with you. My thought was, 'Don't let anybody get on for Brendan.' That's it."
On possibly changing approach if seeing Rodgers multiple outings
"I was still pitching off my strengths, so everything I did was based off me. I was going to pitch in, and I was going to spin him.
"My biggest thing was to get ahead of him. If I could get ahead and get into an aggression account in my favor, then I think I was going to be alright, but when I fell behind is when I tried to nibble because like I said, if you miss over the plate too much, he's going to make you pay. You had to be smart with your pitches, for sure."
On whether any skill set stands out above the rest
"He's top-to-bottom a very good player, and it's very rare to see guys who top-to-bottom have a good approach, can hit for power, also like to use the big part of the field, can run a little bit and then get out to shortstop and pick it. I guess my biggest thing is he's just a baseball player. That's what makes him so hard to face and so hard to play against. He knows the game well, and he stays within his approach pretty well. I mean yeah, being a young guy he does chase a little bit, but it's not that much. It's very rare."
On Rodgers' defense
"He can pick it, and he's got a pretty good arm, too. He made one or two sick plays where he went in the hole. I think he Jetered one of them and laid out and popped up and showed off the arm on the other one maybe. He's a good player. Top to bottom, he's got tools in every category."
On final stages of development
"The biggest thing for me as a pitcher as I'm getting older and learning how to manipulate hitters is getting them to come out of their plans. The ones who are good are the ones who stay within their plan. Staying within his plan and being able to stay balanced and stay comfortable in the box, when he's comfortable, he's a scary hitter. I feel like that's where guys are going to try to get him in the big leagues, try to get him off the plate, get him uncomfortable and open it up away to see if they can get him to chase. If he can stay in the box, stay comfortable and stay disciplined in the zone, he's going to have a very good career."

2018 Eastern League opposing position player

On what stands out about Rodgers
"Honestly, there isn't a whole lot he can't do as far as on defense and at the plate. He hits the fastball really well, and on defense he's really smart, and he's always in the right position. There really isn't a whole lot he can't do."
On the rarity of being that well-rounded
"I think it's a testament to how hard he works. He grinds. He's very [purposeful] with his work, and he has a plan in pretty much everything he's doing. I really think what you see on the field attests to how he works off the field."

On what he progressed with most after a slow start in Double-A
"He didn't really do a whole lot to change. He definitely made a few adjustments to the level, but I think honestly at the time, he put a little bit too much pressure on himself. With his name and everything that comes with that, I think he just tried to do too much when he really pretty much does everything really well. I really didn't think that it was the talent of Double-A beating him at that point. He was just putting a little bit too much pressure on himself. Once he realized playing loose and having fun, he just took off. It was really cool to see."
On how to attack him at the plate
"He hits the fastball really well. The only thing I think that would probably be toughest for him, and I guess pretty much any righty, is sliders down in the zone. But like I said before, when he's in a good place, he pretty much can hit any pitch in the zone."
On his defensive versatility playing at second, shortstop and third base
"He's actually looked good. He's looked comfortable at all three infield positions. I think that comes with just his athleticism and being versatile and having an arm and the speed to be able to do all three. Really just being athletic I think allows him to pretty much play wherever on the field."