The target is squarely on the back of Daril Rodriguez and he’s more than okay with it.
The Red Deer native became the third-straight player with Alberta ties to claim the Blue Jays Academy Canadian Futures Showcase Home Run Derby in 2025, belting 17 roundtrippers during two rounds to take the crown.
He’s back again, this time at Vancouver’s Rogers Field at Nat Bailey Stadium, with a heavyweight belt to defend.
After hitting a few more over the fence during the opening day of the annual showcase, Rodriguez is looking forward to the challenge.
“It’s a really exciting event and, going into it with having the championship, I really want it,” he pauses. “I really want to go back-to-back.”
While he’s quickly become known for how the ball screams off the bat, the Gulls Prep product wants to show that there’s more to his game.
PLAYING A NEW GAME
Rodriguez enters this year’s edition of the Canadian Futures Showcase as a savvy veteran who understands the stage he’s going on.
He entered last year’s event with wide eyes but was calm enough to perform when it mattered and would like to do the same this time around.
“I just feel like it’s a normal weekend,” said the St. Joseph Ball Academy product. “I don’t feel any pressure – I just need to play my game.”
It’s an approach that he has seemingly taken from his home team, the Gulls, who had played the role of Cinderella during the inaugural Road to Okotoks run to the Morneau Cup championship final.
The 5-foot-11, 180-pound outfielder hit a combined .270 with three doubles, 10 runs batted in and a stolen base between the Regional Qualifiers in Lethbridge/Vauxhall and the main event in Okotoks.
Surprisingly, his only home runs during that tournament came during its Home Run Derby.
Don’t think of Rodriguez’s performance as a power outage as much as it was him finding more ways to get on base and contribute to a scrappy Gulls squad who made it to the championship game, falling to the host Dawgs.
LET IT FLY
Committed to Hutchinson Community College, Rodriguez is hoping to work on his speed during the next few months as he gets ready to graduate from high school and take the next step in his baseball journey.
It’s a part of his game that has matured a lot in the past year, which is something he’s hoping to show in Vancouver.
It’s a mentality centering on the idea that it’s better to get on-base than strike out or flyout going for the big bomb.
But if he gets the opportunity to step into the batter’s box to defend his Home Run Derby crown as a member of Team Black, you can count on Rodriguez to take a deep breath and be confident in his ability to swing away.
“Last year, I was kind of looking for power, but this year I’m trying to be more of a scrappy player,” he said. “I want to get hits, get bloop singles, and occasionally let it fly.”
Main image credit: Jacqueline Tung (BCIT)
