With one of the most valued curveballs in their system, the Houston Astros added 22-year-old right-hander Nivaldo Rodriguez to their 40-man roster, November 20. Having never pitched above Class A for Houston, Rodriguez was added along with three others just hours before the deadline for Rule 5 protection.

Ranked #26 on the Astros’ Top 30 prospect list, per MLB.com, Rodriguez joins first baseman/outfielder Taylor Jones (#28), and right-handed pitchers Cristian Javier (#9) and Enoli Paredes (#13) as the newest additions to Houston’s 40-man, bringing the roster to 38.

Eligible, now, for December’s Rule 5 draft and not protected by Houston are outfielder Ronnie Dawson (#16) and infielder Jonathan Arauz (#25).

A year ago at this time, the Astros protected right-hander Bryan Abreu from Rule 5 selection, having never pitched above Class A himself. Abreu made his debut in an Astros uniform July 31 and has put himself in a solid position to contribute to the pitching staff in 2020.

Just Under the Wire

Born in Naguanagua, Carabobo, Venezuela in April 1997, Nivaldo Apolinar Rodriguez was signed by Houston for $10,000 in 2016, and spent that year and 2017 in the Dominican Summer and Florida’s Gulf Coast Leagues, respectively.

Rodriguez put up a tidy 2.39 ERA while averaging a strikeout per inning in his first three seasons, capping his 2018 campaign with Houston’s short season Tri-City ValleyCats of the New York-Penn League.

While he didn’t make his full-season debut until 2019 with the Class A Quad Cities River Bandits, he only needed six starts before impressing Houston coaches and front office, earning a quick promotion to the Class A-Advanced Fayetteville Woodpeckers in May.

Rodriguez, tall and thin at 6’1″ and 170 pounds, was 6-6 and tossed a 2.40 ERA (0.99 WHIP) while striking out 9.8 batters per nine in 105 combined innings in 2019. He started 15 of his 24 games between Fayetteville (18 games) and Quad Cities (six games) while allowing a combined .183 opponent batting average.

Playoff Experience: “He’s Got a Drive”

In mid-September, Rodriguez struck out seven in six innings while allowing a run on three hits over six innings. That outing helped Fayetteville nip their opponent 2-1, giving the Woodpeckers a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five 2019 Carolina League Mills Cup Finals (which they fell short of winning).

Following that standout September game, Fayetteville pitching coach Thomas Whitsett was happy to sing Rodriguez’s praises to MiLB.com: “He attacked guys from the beginning. He didn’t have any free bags today and that was huge for him. And, the only hits he gave up were behind in the count. He didn’t have his best stuff, but it speaks to his character that he was able to locate his pitches.

“He’s got a drive. He’s got a competitive nature. He wants to get outs and he wants to win,” Whitsett continued. “And at this point of the season, that’s what we’re trying to do — win ballgames. It’s a great thing overall for our team and organization, just a great guy to have on your pitching staff.”

“Able to Strike Guys Out”

According to Fayetteville manager Nate Shaver, Rodriguez not only showed himself to be a competitor from his first day, but his work ethic is also enviable.

“He continues to work [every day] with [Whitsett] and work on pitch development,” Shaver told Jayne Hansen of What the Heck Bobby in June. “With his curveball being his best pitch, he’s able to command the zone with it and he can throw it pretty much whenever he wants. He’s able to strike guys out, throw three pitches and he’s had good success,” Shaver concluded.

From the Scout’s Clipboard

While his repertoire includes a fastball, curve, slider, and change (with splitter action), it’s Rodriguez’ curveball spin rate that’s drawing the lion’s share of attention within the organization.

But, as is typical among Astro farmhands, he challenges hitters up in the strike zone with four-seam fastballs while aiming his curves down in the zone. His fastball currently resides in the 90-92 mph range, with an occasional top at 94.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Curveball: 60 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 50 | Overall: 40

While he won’t be blowing hitters away with his low-90s fastball, his progress will depend largely on how well he can keep advanced hitters off balance with his dizzying curve.

Being weened as a starter, Rodriguez profiles mainly as a back-end rotation piece or as a reliever who could rely heavily on his breaking ball (think Collin McHugh, who’s seen success in both roles with Houston since 2014, armed with a world-class spin rate on his curve).