For Crew prospect Rodriguez, Classic is an epic homecoming

JUPITER, Fla. -- For Carlos Rodriguez, the World Baseball Classic is a homecoming story of the most epic kind.

The 21-year-old right-hander will get the start for Team Nicaragua in Saturday’s Pool D opener against Puerto Rico.

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That alone would be a memorable moment for any pitcher on the first Nicaraguan team to qualify for the WBC, but Rodriguez will be toeing the rubber roughly 10 miles from Miami Christian, where he attended high school.

“It's a great honor for me to be able to represent the flag, especially at home where I was raised,” Rodriguez said before Nicaragua’s 6-4 loss Thursday to the Cardinals at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. “I don't even have words for it. I'm just so hyped for it. I can't wait for it to happen.”

Ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Brewers’ No. 13 prospect, Rodriguez -- a sixth-round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft -- was named Milwaukee’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2022, leading all of the organization’s qualified affiliate-ball Minor Leaguers in WHIP, opponents’ average, strikeout rate and FIP in 107 2/3 innings at Single-A and High-A.

“It's been great,” Rodriguez said. “I guess I had a pretty good first season, so I have just kept working harder and harder to have a great second season.”

That sophomore year will start with the WBC, where Rodriguez will earn a shot at facing Major League hitters in a competitive environment before he ever reaches Double-A.

“It's a great opportunity for me to show the Brewers what I could do at the Major League level,” Rodriguez said. “I have to prove myself so I can show them that I'm able to pitch at that level, but I'm not going to overthink it. At the end of the day, those guys are humans just like me, so I'm going to go do what I know how to do and just pitch.”

“He's 21 years old, but it's all about his character, his preparation, his mentality and how he carries that with him on the mound,” Nicaragua manager Sandor Guido said through a translator. “He’s going to learn a lot from this moment when facing these hitters, but it's also going to help him as he continues his growth and career trajectory to reaching the Majors.”

Rodriguez, who was born in Nicaragua and moved to Miami at the age of eight, estimates that he will have between 15 and 20 family members and friends on hand for his start.

“I have to get all those tickets,” he said with a smile. And those loved ones who aren’t making the trip from Nicaragua will be glued to their televisions when he takes the mound. “Everybody's going to take that day off and just watch the game.”

Guido said he played with Rodriguez’s father -- also named Carlos -- from 1997-2002, so having the younger Rodriguez on this team is “a big bonus” for the manager.

“From talking with Carlos, it's a very exciting moment for him; an emotional moment,” Guido said. “He's got a great pitch arsenal, so we're happy to have him with us.”

Nicaragua’s first-ever WBC qualifier features seven players from Major League organizations, while the age range varies from 21 to 39. Rodriguez is the youngest player on the team, though age is just a number for a group making this type of national history together.

“Being able to experience all of this at the level we’re playing for the first time with Nicaragua is a great experience,” Rodriguez said. “We’re just going one game at a time and doing what we love to do.”

Rodriguez grew up going to Marlins games, even pitching at loanDepot Park a couple of times in high school. Some of the players he used to watch regularly on TV could be stepping into the box against him, but he’s going to prepare to face them the same way he would a team in the Carolina League.

Even if the stakes are much greater.

“It’s basically like a postseason game, because the tournament is a do-or-die,” “Rodriguez said. “There might be some nerves for the first pitch, but after that, I don't think there will be any. I'm just excited to pitch. Everything we're getting right now is basically big league experience. I'm stoked about it because I get to experience it before being in the big leagues, so I think it's a good challenge.”