Behind-the-scenes work fuels rapid improvement for Pirates catcher Endy Rodriguez

The Pittsburgh Pirates had one rookie on the mound in Quinn Priester and another behind the plate in Endy Rodriguez, a clear advantage for the Milwaukee Brewers with the bases loaded and no outs.

Joey Wiemer worked a 3-0 count when Priester threw a sinker at the bottom rail of a strike zone that home plate umpire Edwin Moscoso had been calling tight. Rodriguez framed it for a called strike. Two pitches later, Wiemer popped up to Rodriguez in foul territory.

With a full count against former NL MVP Christian Yelich, Rodriguez snared a pitch just above the strike zone for a called strike three, and William Contreras grounded into a forceout to end the inning. The Pirates escaped unscathed on their way to an 8-4 win Aug. 4.

“That game could’ve gone very differently had some of those calls not gone our way. That was a full credit to Endy, to the work he’d done and the quality with which he caught those pitches,” said Pirates catching assistant coach Jordan Comadena, a longtime bullpen catcher. “I told him, ‘This is the value that every night you can provide with your defense and your receiving.’ In my opinion, that inning and those pitches won us the game.”

Comadena cited that sequence at Milwaukee as a sign of the rapid improvement Rodriguez has made behind the plate since July 17, when the Pirates promoted the 23-year-old catcher who was their No. 1 prospect and one of the top 50 in baseball.

The Milwaukee win was a rewarding moment for Comadena, third base coach Mike Rabelo (a former major-league catcher) and game planning and strategy coach Radley Haddad, who have poured their knowledge of playing the position into Rodriguez behind the scenes.

Not only is Rodriguez getting a crash course in familiarizing himself with the Pirates’ pitching staff while learning the tendencies of opposing hitters, but Comadena said he also is working to refine his setup, increase his tempo by loading his glove quicker pre-pitch and improve his pitch framing and receiving so he can be positioned to use his strength and athleticism.

“It’s not easy. Probably of any position to just call somebody up and immerse them into the major-league routine and daily grind, catching has to be the hardest position,” Comadena said. “He’s having to manage getting himself ready to hit. He’s managing getting ready to catch. Then, in addition to learning all of the hitters he’s going to see and the pitchers he’s going to be working with, it’s a lot. And it’s hard. We’re working on trying not to do overdo it, to keep things simple and keep things in a way that are digestible for him to free him up to just go play.”

Rodriguez rocketed to the top of the Pirates’ prospect rankings last season because of his bat, earning the Pirates’ minor-league player of the year honors after he slashed .323/.407/.590 with 39 doubles, 25 home runs and 95 RBIs through three levels of the system.

What separated Rodriguez from Henry Davis, the 2021 No. 1 overall pick, was his athleticism behind the dish. The Pirates split them up so both could be their team’s primary catcher, with Rodriguez starting the season at Triple-A Indianapolis and Davis at Double-A Altoona.

Where Davis accelerated his ascension by switching to right field, Rodriguez appears to be the Pirates’ catcher of not just the present but the future. Rodriguez seems unfazed by the jump to the majors, shrugging it off as a product of the work he’s been putting in all season to achieve his goal of becoming a big-league catcher.

“The difference between the minor leagues and here is the adjustments. I need to adjust quick,” Rodriguez said, snapping his fingers twice for effect. “Between the white lines, we need to see everything: How was the swing? Was he late or not? How can I use the strength of my pitcher against the hitter? It’s those little things.”

Rodriguez’s impact was evident in his fifth major-league game, on July 22 at the Los Angeles Angels. Rodriguez hit his first career home run in the sixth inning to give the Pirates a 3-0 lead, one they were trying to protect when the Angels loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth.

With closer David Bednar on the mound, Rodriguez called for a splitter then smacked the back of his mitt twice to pump up the two-time All-Star before his pitch to Trey Cabbage.

“It’s because as a catcher, I enjoy when we get the guy out. I feel like it’s my out, not just the pitcher’s out,” Rodriguez said. “If I push the pitcher a little bit, they trust themselves and are like, ‘Let’s go!’ ”

Cabbage hit a bouncing comebacker that Bednar threw home to Rodriguez, who fired to first for a 1-2-3 double play to end the game. That moment made a lasting impression on Bednar about the type of catcher Rodriguez wants to become.

“The biggest thing between a pitcher-catcher relationship is trust,” Bednar said. “Building that relationship and knowing that he trusts what he’s putting down and what you’re about to throw, just being on the same page and having that conviction with the guy behind the plate is a huge part of it.”

Pirates manager Derek Shelton credited Rodriguez’s ebullient personality for serving as inspiration. Players tend to gravitate toward Rodriguez, who can be found smiling inside the clubhouse and dugout when he’s not cheering teammates on from behind the plate.

“Yeah, there’s a lot of youthful energy that leads into leadership,” Shelton said. “He’s got a great personality. I think the thing that stands out is the personality came out in spring training, when he was in camp and knew he wasn’t going to make the team — and he was still like that. I think he’s got that infectiousness about him where people want to be around him, he wants to have some energy. I think it’s really cool to see out of a young kid, especially a young kid that catches.”

That comes with the territory, as catchers are often among the most visible and vocal players even if they are dressed in disguise during games behind a mask, chest protector and shin guards.

That Rodriguez, a native of the Dominican Republic, is bilingual also is beneficial because he can be conversant with a pitching staff and infield that features plenty of Spanish-speaking players.

“He is a very charismatic, very energetic kid and has great relationships, especially with the guys he’s been with this year in Indy,” Comadena said. “They all love him. As he continues to build relationships with the guys that have been here for most of the year, that’ll continue to grow.”

While Rodriguez still is earning respect in the majors, he isn’t shy about sharing his intentions on his desired role with the Pirates.

“That’s one of my biggest goals: I want to be a leader of the team,” Rodriguez said. “That’s how I am. That’s my personality. In baseball, I want to be that kind of player.”

Rodriguez also wants to show that his bat plays in the big leagues. He’s hitting .253/.322/.430 with four doubles, two triples, two homers and seven RBIs in his first 27 games but striking out at a 30.4% rate.

Those numbers are favorable compared to the start Adley Rutschman, the 2019 No. 1 overall pick, had for the Baltimore Orioles last year. Rutschman hit .195/.275/.329 with six doubles, a triple, a homer and three RBIs in his first 22 games but finished with a .254/.362/.445 slash line, 35 doubles, 13 homers and 42 RBIs in 113 games to finish second in AL rookie of the year voting.

Rodriguez has proven that his arms plays. He has thrown out five of 13 runners attempting to steal (38%), compared to Austin Hedges (8 of 50, 14%) and Jason Delay (4 of 38, 10%).

Rodriguez also was directly involved in one of the Pirates’ best defensive plays of the season, a 9-2-4-2 double play in a 6-4 walk-off win over the Philadelphia Phillies on July 30 at PNC Park. He caught Davis’ throw from right field at home plate, fired to second base to Nick Gonzales, who immediately threw back to Rodriguez to tag out Bryce Harper in the top of the 10th inning. That play pumped the Pirates, who got a walk-off home run from Joshua Palacios in the bottom of the 10th.

The rookies’ role in the victory inspired Rodriguez to start talking about their talent showing what the future could look like for the Pirates. His positive persona and air of confidence gives his teammates faith Rodriguez will be a big part of their eventual success.

“He’s an emotional catcher, for sure,” starter Mitch Keller said. “It’s awesome to see when I get a strikeout, and he’s fired up back there, too. It definitely brings some energy and positivity to the game.

“Anytime you have a catcher, they always bring that presence of being the leader on the field. They’re controlling the game. They need to know every situation. He does a really good job of that. I’m super excited to see the growth he’s already made in the short time he’s been up here. To know what he’s going to be like in even two or three years is going to be great.”