What a massive jump on this one. Eduardo Rodriguez was ranked 30th in the Orioles’ organization according to Baseball America last year. He’s now ranked 5th.

Boy, those kids grow fast, don’t they?

There’s a bit of a problem here, though – apparently he doesn’t get too much attention despite being the most improved prospect in the organization this past year. He’s going to turn 20 this year, and he already managed to dominate in low A ball at the age of 19. The LHP still only can be found in a single video on YouTube, and it’s from 2011:

This doesn’t exactly help me explain how he’s changed, since he’s grown into his body more and has a fastball that tops out around 94 mph or so. He’s also got a slider and a changeup – BA rates the slider slightly higher – and they’re still developing, but they’ve gotten better since we last checked in with him. BA also reports that “the Orioles have helped Rodriguez overhaul his delivery and get more on line toward the plate without robbing him of deception. He has benefited from committing to a consistent between-starts routine.” He’ll probably start the year off in Frederick, where he’ll probably be able to more than simply keep up.