Mr. Rodgers is in the neighborhood, and area baseball fans should check him out during his first visit to the Mountain State.
The South Atlantic League has seen its share of top prospects during the past decade. Nolan Arenado and Bryce Harper, two of the Major League's top home run threats, are Sally League grads. Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado played in the SAL the same year as Harper.
Established big leaguers like Anthony Rizzo, Jason Heyward, Freddie Freeman, Giancarlo Stanton and Andrew McCutchen climbed the ladder to the majors after stints in the low-Class A league.
All of those players have a couple dovetailing characteristics.
One, they put up impressive numbers in the South Atlantic League. Two, they were all teenagers when they did so.
It is a safe indicator of future success. Arenado and Harper hit over .300 as teens in this league. Stanton mashed 39 home runs when he was 18 years old. Freeman drove in 95 runs at the same age.
Now it's Brendan Rodgers' turn.
Entering Friday's four-game series against the West Virginia Power, the 19-year-old Asheville infielder was batting .351. That's the highest batting average for any teen in the league. And he has been scorching as of late, batting 11 for 19 during a five-game stretch entering the series and hitting .447 over a 10-game span.
"I'm seeing the ball and hitting the ball," Rodgers said Friday after a trip to the batting cages at Appalachian Power Park. "It's given me some confidence at the plate. I'm taking advantage of any at-bat."
Rodgers was the third overall pick in the first round of the 2015 MLB Draft. The Colorado Rockies didn't hesitate to make him the first high school player selected even though they had Troy Tulowitzki in the big leagues and top prospect Trevor Story waiting in the wings - both shortstops.
Rodgers was drafted in early June and by late July, Tulowitzki was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays. Story, 23, opened this season as the Rockies' shortstop.
All Story did was homer twice in his debut, hit six home runs in his first four games and now leads the MLB lead in homers ahead of Arenado, Harper and Neil Walker. By the way, Walker also played in the Sally League ... at 19 years old.
Rodgers, who is 6 feet tall and 190 pounds, is a right-hander with power, patience and the ability to play both middle-infield positions. He is rated the No. 10 prospect in baseball by MLB.com, No. 11 by ESPN's Keith Law and No. 40 by Baseball America.
"He definitely has a great approach to the game," said Mike Devereaux, who played 12 seasons in the majors and now works as the hitting coach for Asheville. "He's young like most guys here. He's got serious power. He's got the discipline at the plate."
Devereaux hasn't been doing much tinkering as of late. Rodgers also has five home runs in his first 19 games of full-season-level baseball. He has driven in 19 runs. He struck out only once during a recent six-game stretch.
Did Rodgers anticipate finding success at this level this soon?
"I actually didn't," he said.
But he's not trying to overthink this. He wants to be consistent. He wants to continue to learn at both middle-infield positions so he can remain a versatile piece to the parent club. Maybe someday he'll be turning double plays with Story.
"He's had one of the best starts I've ever seen out of a young guy," Rodgers said of Story. "I'm rooting for him."
That said, Rodgers isn't thinking of the big leagues yet. He is projected to arrive in the majors in 2018. Maybe later.
"It's definitely too far away," Rodgers said. "I talked to Story, we hang out in the offseason, and he goes after his work very hard ... it's definitely starting to pay off for him. I'm proud of him; happy for him."
And, remember, Story hit 18 home runs for Asheville in this league in 2012.
As a teenager.
Rodgers is the next in line.
"No doubt," Devereaux said of Rodgers, "he's going to be a great player."