MLB Rumors: Phillies big move, Orioles Bradish replacement, Mets find next Realmuto?

MLB Rumors: Exciting Mets prospect receives high praise

The New York Mets made one of the biggest splashes during the International Free Agency period, signing 17-year-old Venezuelan catcher Yovanny Rodriguez to a deal with a $2.85 million signing bonus. Rodriguez was ranked as the No. 6 prospect in the class by MLB Pipeline with MLB Pipeline saying has a chance to become the best player in this class.

In his scouting report, MLB Pipeline highlights his power on the offensive side of the ball but talk a lot about his defense, something SNY's Joe DeMayo also highlights in his latest piece.

"One Mets scout told me that he has a 70-grade arm on a 20-80 scale, and that in workouts he would have pop times throwing down to second base that are at the level of J.T. Realmuto, who is among the best at throwing out base runners at the major league level."

That's some high praise, for Rodriguez, who is getting this comparison to one of the game's best catchers at just 17 years old. Realmuto is a three-time All-Star and has been one of the most complete catchers in the league since debuting back in 2014.

While he can do it all, Realmuto is known most for his elite pop time, which highlights the ability to receive the ball and get rid of it to catch a potential base stealer. Realmuto is consistently near or at the top of leaderboards in pop time, and he led the league this past season, taking just 1.83 seconds to get rid of the ball and zoom it to the second base bag according to Baseball Savant.

While he had a bit of a down year catching potential base stealers in 2023, Realmuto has led the league twice in CS%, catching as high as 47% of would-be base stealers.

Rodriguez is still a ways away from making any sort of impact for the Mets, but the fact that his arm is already on par with one of the best throwing catchers in the league at such a young age is a great sign.