Frederick, MD – The Frederick Keys received its first weekly honor of the 2024 season Tuesday as right-handed pitcher Christian Rodriguez was named MLB Draft League Pitcher of the Week following his complete game performance against the Mahoning Valley Scrappers Friday night at Nymeo Field at Harry Grove Stadium.
As part of the performance, the Cal State Fullerton product recorded 16 strikeouts while going all nine innings in an 8-2 win over the Scrappers, the 16 strikeouts setting an MLB Draft League record for a single game. His complete game was the first one ever recorded by a pitcher in the first half in MLB Draft League history.
In the first half, Rodriguez finished with a 3-1 record while recording 39 innings pitched and lowered his season ERA from 4.50 to 3.92 after allowing just two runs in nine innings of work last week. He also brought up his strikeout total from 29 to 45 following the stellar performance in the Key City, and only allowed 12 walks all season long in close to 40 innings on the hill.
This past Monday, Rodriguez heard his name called in the 10th round of the 2024 MLB Draft by the Baltimore Orioles for the 309th overall pick, representing the first draft pick for the Keys so far in this year’s draft. He recently committed to the University of Hawaii after transferring from the Titans program prior to the MLB Draft.
The Keys will begin the second half of the 2024 season Thursday night against the first half champion Williamsport Crosscutters. First pitch from Journey Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field is set for 6:35 p.m.
