St. Paul's newest Saint marches around for inside-the-park slam

There’s aggressively introducing yourself at a new level and then there’s what Emmanuel Rodriguez did on Saturday night.

MLB’s No. 21 prospect didn't just hit his first Triple-A homer -- he raced around the bases for an inside-the-park grand slam, marking his first roundtripper for the St. Paul Saints in their 8-6 victory against Iowa at CHS Field.

Entering his fourth game at the Triple-A level on Saturday, the Twins' No. 3 prospect had only collected one hit, one RBI and reached base safely four times, but he was succeeding in other areas, like adjusting to life in St. Paul.

“It's really good to be here around guys who have had a lot of experience,” said Rodriguez via pitching coach Dan Urbina, who served as his interpreter. “[I’ve] been adapting to the league and making adjustments day by day.”

After striking out in the first inning, the 21-year-old approached the plate in the second with the bases loaded. On a 2-1 changeup offered by Trey Supak (Cubs), he drilled the ball at 100.8 mph towards the right-center-field wall. As the ball landed on the warning track, Rodriguez hustled around the bases to score, alongside Rylan Bannon, Peyton Eeles and Diego A. Castillo.

The four RBIs he plated marked a season high -- last reaching the feat on Sept. 20, 2023, with the High-A Cedar Rapids Kernels. He reached base twice later in the game on a pair of walks.

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"[I’m] always thinking of like a ‘big hustle,’” said Rodriguez. “[I] never expected that's going to happen, but that's [my] style -- 'play hard, run fast.'"

Despite battling injuries throughout the season, baseball’s seventh-ranked outfield prospect had put on a strong showing before his promotion. Through 37 games at Double-A, Rodriguez slashed .298/.479/.621 with a 1.100 OPS with eight home runs.

As the 2024 season begins to come to an end, Rodriguez has solidified his place as a key player in the Twins' organization, a key cog for a system that was ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 2 overall group in the Majors moving forward.