MILWAUKEE, Wis.- Former Florida SouthWestern ace Carlos Rodriguez is set to make Buccaneers history on Tuesday as he was called up to the Milwaukee Brewers and is expected to make his Major League Baseball debut against the Toronto Blue Jays tonight at American Family Field, making him the first FSW player to reach the Big Leagues since the program's restart in 2016. 

 

Rodriguez went 7-2 with a 2.11 ERA, earning 1st Team All-Suncoast Conference honors while leading FSW to a Conference Championship in 2021. He started his Buccaneer career just about as good as he could have drawn it up, throwing nine scoreless innings over a pair of starts, striking out 16 and walking just one in the process. He threw 47 total innings over 10 starts, striking out 62 and walking just 12 before becoming the Bucs highest draft pick in program history when Milwaukee took him in the 6th round in the July Major League Baseball Draft. 

 

After starting his professional career without much fanfare, Rodriguez has earned his way into the spotlight, shooting up the Brewers organizational prospect rankings, going from outside the Top 30 to start the 2022 season all the way into the #6 spot as of his call up on Tuesday. 

 

Rodriguez has twice been named the Brewers Minor League Pitcher of the Year, the only player in organizational history to achieve the feat in back to back seasons. In 64 career Minor League games over the past three seasons Rodriguez has notched a 3.41 ERA over nearly 300 innings pitched, holding opposing hitters to just a .198 batting average while posting almost a 3 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio with 353 punchouts and just 126 free passes. 

 

Rodriguez opened the 2024 season as one of the five youngest pitchers (22) in the AAA ranks with the Nashville Sounds and will enter the Big Leagues on Tuesday as one of the 10 youngest players in Major League Baseball. 

 

The Bucs currently have 19 players playing in the Minor Leagues, with Rodriguez set to become the first FSW player to reach the Majors Tuesday. He becomes one of four Buccaneers to reach Major League Baseball, joining three Edison State alumns, and is the first Buc since 12 year Big Leaguer and 100 game winning Joel Pineiro in 2011. 

 

Rodriguez is set to get the ball for the Central leading Brewers in a 7:10 (CT) start against Yusei Kikuchi and the Blue Jays tonight in Milwaukee.