Rangers No. 2 Prospect Rougned Odor

May 24, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; Texas Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor (73) hits a two RBI triple in the fourth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Big things sometimes come in small packages. Rougned Odor epitomizes this saying. Though he is under 6 feet and the youngest player in the major leagues, Rougned Odor isn’t scared of anything. He proved this by having his best game at the major league level on national television Saturday when the Rangers played the Tigers on Fox Sports 1. Rougned Odor, or Roogie as he is affectionately called by some fans, has always come up as a second base prospect. He has also always been highly touted as shown by his $425,000 signing bonus out of Venezuela in January of 2011.

Odor was not expected to see significant major league playing time this year. Roogie started the year at AA Frisco where he hit well and put his power on display at a higher rate in the early goings. Odor hit 6 home runs in 30 games in Frisco this year. Roogie also blasted this moon shot for his first homer at the big league level this year in Houston.

Here is his 4 hit 5 RBI day on national television where he showed America that Roogie Odor is a name they should remember.

Manager Ron Washington praises the Young man for his intensity. In an interview on local radio station 105.3 The Fan, Michael Young told show hosts Ben and Skin that Odor was one of his top five favorite players to watch in the big leagues right now because he goes out there every day to kick your butt. Odor’s grit and passion for the game have earned him comparisons to the former MPV and rookie of the year Dustin Pedroia. If you watch both of them play for a few games you can see why. Pedroia is not the most talented player in the majors, but he plays harder than almost anyone in the game. Both Pedroia and Odor run out routine grounders like their season depends on it. Both scrap for every single ground ball in their zone, and both have been known to do a little bit of trash talking.

This grit and intensity is what separates Rougned Odor from many other players. When you have a player in your lineup every day who plays as hard as Roogie it inspires others to play harder as well. Among this grit, Odor’s other assets include above average power for a second baseman, a great hit tool, soft hands, and great speed. Roogie has yet to commit an error in 42 chances all coming at second base. Roogie has an above average arm for a second baseman but has yet to show it off at the major league level so far. His speed has shown itself so far on his hits but not so much in the steal department. Odor so far is 0-3 this season in the bigs on steal attempts after getting caught by Alex Avila today.

If Roogie keeps playing this well while Profar is out, he might force the front office into some action within the next 6 months. Odor has the talent to cause a Profar-like logjam at the middle infield when Jurickson Profar comes back from injury either in late August or next year. Though it’s a situation I don’t like to think about, he could be a reason that Elvis Andrus is traded if the Rangers start into a free fall before the trade deadline. Don’t think that other GM’s haven’t taken notice of the young rookie. He has been on the radar of many MLB GM’s and is the type of prospect that could front a trade package for a player like oh I don’t know maybe David Price? It would take more than Roogie to get David Price, but solid play at the major league level would definitely improve his stock in opposing GM’s eyes.

The pie in the sky peak potential for Roogie would make him a 20-35 homer a year all star who could win quite a few gold gloves and hit over .300. If for some terrible reason Elvis did get traded this year, there is no double play combination I would want to watch besides Jurickson Profar and Rougned Odor. This kid has a lot of talent and is an absolute blast to watch play the game. If you like scrappy players that work their butts off then Rougned Odor is one player you will love to watch.

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