His mama calls him Steven, only his mama calls him Steven, we may call him “Paco.” Most analysts predicted that Rodriguez would be the first 2012 draftee to arrive in the bigs, ta-da, Rodriguez will be in the bullpen tonight as the Dodgers begin their critical series with the San Francisco Giants tonight.
“Call me Paco,” he said introducing himself. “The only time I’m called Steven is when my mom is mad at me.”
Rodriguez, 21, figures to get regular appearances due to the injuries to Scott Elbert and Ted Lilly, helping Randy Choate out as the only other healthy lefty reliever.
Rodriguez, was a bit surprised to say the least, when he heard the news.
“Yesterday I was eating with our bullpen catcher back in Chattanooga and De Jon Watson calls me and says, ‘hey I’ve got some bad news for you.’
“I said, ‘what’s going on?’ And he’s like, ‘you’re going to have to drop your food, go pack your (belongings) and come in to L.A.’ My heart just started beating fast. A great feeling. Then I just called my parents, let them know I was coming up.”
After being chosen 82nd overall by the Dodgers, Rodriguez tore up the lower minor-league levels. He had six scoreless outings for Single-A Great Lakes with a pair of saves, 10 strikeouts and zero walks. Quickly promoted to Chattanooga, Rodriguez went 1-0 with a 1.32 ERA in 15 appearances, with 22 strikeouts, six walks and three saves in 13.2 innings. Opponents batted just .149 against him.
In 21 minor league appearances spanning 19.2 innings, he had a 32-to-6 walk-to-strikeout ratio and a 0.92 ERA.