Grayson Rodriguez came in and shut the door in the 8th! #FuturesGame pic.twitter.com/DUJIbkpqgF
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) July 8, 2019
Not even two years ago, Grayson Rodriguez was changing the game as a participant in the first ever International Week event put on by the New Balance Baseball Future Stars Series powered by Program 15. Â Now, he becomes the first alum to play in the Futures Game, and he put on a performance indicative of what got him invited to Sugar Land back in 2017.
With the game switching to a seven-inning format, the 19-year-old Orioles farmhand was relied upon to pitch an “extra” eighth inning, which started with Braves prospect Christian Pache on second base thanks to MiLB’s new extra inning rules. Â Facing a star-studded trio of Joey Bart, Isan Diaz and Alec Bohm, Rodriguez spun a 1-2-3 inning to keep it a 2-2 game, and needed just 11 pitches to do it.
Rodriguez, who was the fourth-youngest player in the game, was reported to have seen his fastball top out at 96 miles per hour at the event, with a 74-77 MPH curveball and 79-81 MPH changeup mixed in as well.
Enjoy this video of him on the mound — and even a few clips of him at the plate — from the inaugural International Week event at Constellation Field.
Since 2003, he has covered multiple World Series and has worked high-profile events ranging from the MLB All-Star Game to the World Baseball Classic. In addition to his role working for the Future Stars Series that he's held since 2017, Ashmore currently serves as the beat writer of the Double-A New York Yankees affiliate, the Somerset Patriots, as well as national hockey writer and New York Jets game day beat reporter for The Trentonian.
A regular contributor to Baseball America, Ashmore has worked seven Super Bowls, 12 Stanley Cup Finals, the 4 Nations Face-Off, the NBA Playoffs, College Football Playoff National Championship Game, Frozen Four, Daytona 500, major UFC events and much more as he approaches 3,200 games covered in his career.
An avid card collector and sim racer, he lives with his wife, Sarah, their son William, and their beloved dog, Bailey, and cat, Smokey.
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