FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Milwaukee Brewers signed Florida Gulf Coast University senior
Alejandro Rodriguez (
Cidra, Puerto Rico/Montverde Academy/Eastern Florida State University) as a free agent, and senior
LJ McDonough (
Blanchard, Oklahoma/Blanchard High School/Wichita State University) will be heading to the Atlanta Braves as a free agent.
"We are thrilled to have LJ and 'Arod' be able to continue their dream of playing professionally," head coach
Dave Tollett said. "They both were such a big part of our success in 2023. We wish both of them the best of luck."
Rodriguez will be joining
Jason Woodward (
Titusville, Florida/Titusville High School), who was drafted Monday in the fourth round of the 2023 Major League Baseball draft. He was the 119th pick overall and led off a trio of Eagles drafted that included
Mason Miller and
Edrick Felix. This year's draft picks were the first for FGCU since 2019.
Rodriguez started the season with high expectations as he was ranked as the 29
th-best catcher in the country, according to D1Baseball.com for the 2022 season
. He caught 14 of 38 would-be base stealers, sporting one of the highest caught-stealing percentages in the NCAA.
He earned ASUN Third-Team honors and made 58 starts behind the plate for the Eagles. He boasted a .329 batting average and belted seven home runs while notching 50 RBIs and scoring 48 runs.
He helped the Green & Blue break its single-season record of runs scored (578). Rodriguez made 127 starts in his three-year career guiding the Eagles to 105 wins, including a 42-win campaign last season. He held a career
.315 batting average accompanied by 16 homers and 111 RBIs.
McDonough also earned ASUN Third-Team honors and was named on the ASUN All-Tournament Team this past season. He appeared in 20 games, earning two starts, and sported a 2.47 ERA in 47.1 innings of work while going 7-2. McDonough had 61 strikeouts and notched a team-high six saves. He was impactful as he closed both wins to clinch the series at No.16 Florida State University.
He tossed a season-long six innings against Jacksonville and posted seven strikeouts at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.
FGCU DRAFT HISTORY
| Year |
Player |
Rd. |
Pick |
Team |
Pos. |
| 2004 |
Chris Brown* |
N/A |
|
Minnesota Twins |
OF/1B |
| 2005 |
Billy Phillips* |
N/A |
|
Boston Red Sox |
RHP |
| 2006 |
Justin Stiver |
17 |
519 |
Houston Astros |
RHP |
|
Jason Louwsma |
29 |
864 |
Cincinnati Reds |
3B |
|
Ryan Williams* |
N/A |
|
Cincinnati Reds |
LHP |
| 2007 |
Luis Pardo |
9 |
291 |
Houston Astros |
RHP |
|
Jason Kiley |
25 |
784 |
New York Yankees |
RHP |
|
Justin Miller* |
N/A |
|
Detroit Tigers |
RHP |
| 2008 |
Richard Bleier |
6 |
183 |
Texas Rangers |
LHP |
|
Casey Coleman |
15 |
461 |
Chicago Cubs |
RHP |
|
Jason Peacock |
26 |
778 |
Florida Marlins |
1B |
| 2010 |
Chris Sale |
1 |
13 |
Chicago White Sox |
LHP |
|
Pete Woodworth* |
N/A |
|
Tampa Bay Rays |
RHP |
| 2011 |
Granden Goetzman# |
2 |
75 |
Tampa Bay Rays |
OF |
|
Jacob Barnes |
14 |
431 |
Milwaukee Brewers |
RHP |
|
Jack Wagoner |
33 |
998 |
Cleveland Indians |
RHP |
|
Stephen Wickens |
33 |
1018 |
Minnesota Twins |
SS |
|
Zach Maxfield* |
N/A |
|
Detroit Tigers |
1B |
|
Tim Roberson* |
N/A |
|
Boston Red Sox |
C |
| 2012 |
Jason Forjet |
31 |
958 |
San Francisco Giants |
RHP |
| 2013 |
Harrison Cooney |
6 |
187 |
Los Angeles Angels |
RHP |
|
Brandon Bednar |
7 |
222 |
San Francisco Giants |
2B/SS |
|
Ricky Knapp |
8 |
236 |
New York Mets |
RHP |
|
Sean Dwyer |
11 |
319 |
Colorado Rockies |
OF/1B |
|
Brandon Bixler |
16 |
470 |
Minnesota Twins |
LHP |
|
Mike Reeves |
21 |
625 |
Toronto Blue Jays |
C |
|
Kyle Buchanan |
40 |
1214 |
New York Yankees |
OF |
| 2014 |
Michael Suchy |
5 |
161 |
Pittsburgh Pirates |
OF |
|
Dash Winningham# |
8 |
235 |
New York Mets |
1B/LHP |
|
Zach Tillery |
13 |
380 |
Minnesota Twins |
RHP |
|
Ryan Atwood |
30 |
897 |
San Diego Padres |
LHP |
| 2015 |
Michael Murray |
32 |
968 |
Oakland Athletics |
RHP |
|
Jordan Desguin |
36 |
1081 |
Milwaukee Brewers |
RHP |
|
Nick Rivera^ |
38 |
1129 |
Houston Astros |
1B/DH |
| 2016 |
Jake Noll |
7 |
214 |
Washington Nationals |
2B |
|
Dimas Ojeda# |
17 |
507 |
Seattle Mariners |
OF |
|
Brady Anderson* |
N/A |
|
Minnesota Twins |
RHP |
|
Tyler Selesky* |
N/A |
|
San Diego Padres |
INF/OF |
| 2017 |
Michael Lagrange* |
N/A |
|
Texas Rangers |
LHP |
|
Kutter Crawford |
16 |
491 |
Boston Red Sox |
RHP |
|
Julio Gonzalez |
17 |
510 |
Kansas City Royals |
SS |
|
Garrett Anderson |
35 |
1039 |
Tampa Bay Rays |
RHP |
| 2018 |
Josh Dye |
23 |
692 |
Kansas City Royals |
LHP |
|
Mario Leon |
23 |
699 |
Arizona Diamondbacks |
RHP |
| 2019 |
Evan Lumbert |
24 |
714 |
San Francisco Giants |
RHP |
|
Keegan Collett |
35 |
1043 |
San Diego Padres |
RHP |
| 2023 |
Jason Woodward |
4 |
119 |
Milwaukee Brewers |
RHP |
|
Mason Miller |
14 |
409 |
Kansas City Royals |
LHP |
|
Edrick Felix |
14 |
419 |
Chicago White Sox |
LHP |
|
Marty Gair # 13 403 Philadelphia Phillies RHP |
|
Alejandro Rodriguez* |
N/A |
|
Milwaukee Brewers |
C |
|
LJ McDonough* |
N/A |
|
Atlanta Braves |
RHP |
# - Committed but did not attend FGCU
* - Signed as an undrafted free agent
^ - Did not sign with team
