Eli Whitney | July 6, 2026
A year ago, Roldy Brito was playing complex league baseball in Arizona, about as far from the spotlight as professional baseball gets. On Sunday, he’ll be in Philadelphia, wearing a Futures Game jersey.
The whiplash of that timeline isn’t lost on him. But if you ask Brito, none of it is an accident.
“It’s a goal I put on myself even before the year started,” Brito said through interpreter Edwin Perez during a Zoom media availability last week. “I even told my dad. I put a goal for myself to be in these big moments, to be in a big game like this. So I think it’s a beautiful opportunity.”
Brito, 19, is one of only three players at the Low-A level to earn a Futures Game invitation, a distinction that makes the honor land differently for the Fresno Grizzlies star.
“It feels very good to be one of those three who were able to do so,” Brito said. “It’s something you dream of as a kid. As soon as you sign with the team, you want to get the big goals out there — you want to be able to play in important games like this.”
Wherever the team needs me
Part of what has made Brito’s season so interesting is that you can’t quite pin him to a spot on the diamond. Signed as an infielder out of the Dominican Republic in 2024, he has split time this season between second base and center field. He traces the infield origins back home.
“In the Dominican [Republic], a lot of players get pushed into that shortstop position,” Brito said. “When you go to tryouts, a lot of Dominicans are kind of in that shortstop spot, so that’s where you lean early on. Before I signed, I was playing shortstop. I also played second base, so I had that balance.”
But center field isn’t new either — he played it as a kid, which he says has flattened the learning curve.
“I don’t find it as difficult as others might, because I’ve had that previous experience,” he said. “There are just little adjustments I’m working on every single day, and as soon as I make those improvements, I think I’m going to become an even better player in the outfield.”
Asked where he sees himself long-term, Brito declined to choose.
“I don’t see myself pigeonholing myself in one position,” he said. “I think I can play both — outfield as well as second base. I’m more than happy to play any position, and I know I can play both of them very well.”
Passive, on purpose
Brito got a brief taste of Fresno in the second half of 2025, and the lesson he carried in 2026 sounds counterintuitive coming from a player known for his aggressiveness: be more passive.
He was careful, though, about what he meant by that. Questioned on whether the organization’s language is “passive” or “patient” — two words that can mean very different things to hitting coaches — Brito landed on selectivity.
“I think it can be both passive or patient, but my focus is on being passive in that specific manner — being selective on a pitch,” he said. “Sometimes I’ll do damage on a pitch that’s maybe not the best pitch I could have had in that at-bat. But I understand I can do more as a baseball player going up there with the right pitch, something down the middle. Don’t make swings on balls outside of the zone.”
That, plus a simple mandate: put the ball in play.
“Things happen when you put the ball in play,” he said. “You’ve got to trust the plan that’s in place. You can’t just go into it willy-nilly.”
The approach has worked.
Just past the halfway point of the season, Brito is hitting .325 with a .388 on-base percentage and an .880 OPS across 323 at-bats, driving in 63 runs and swiping 16 bags to go with six home runs — production that looks less like a hot streak and more like a hitter who knows exactly which pitches he wants.
A clubhouse that feels like family
Fresno has been one of the more entertaining teams in the California League this season — young, run-scoring, with multiple walk-off wins. Brito says the group behind those results is genuinely close.
“We truly have the best intentions for each other,” he said. “We have a feeling like it’s a family. We’re supporting each other every day, every at-bat. We’re truly friends outside the field, but when we’re on the field, we’re playing for each other — we’re not just playing for ourselves.”
The flip side of a tight-knit minor league clubhouse is that it never stays intact.
“It’s sad when someone leaves us,” Brito said, mentioning Jack O’Dowd, Ethan Holliday, and Tanner Thach as recent examples.
The people behind the rise
Asked who he leans on to make sure he’s ready when the big leagues get closer, Brito started at home.
“I think my dad’s been the biggest support, but also kind of my teacher in a way,” he said. “He’s given me good advice ever since I was a kid. When I’m going through a bad hitting streak or a bad streak overall, he’s the one who adjusts and corrects me. He’ll keep it real when he needs to keep it real.”
He also credited all of his coaches in Fresno, including manager Cesar Galvez, and made a point to credit vice president of international scouting and development, Rolando Fernandez.
“Without him, I wouldn’t have had this opportunity to sign with the organization.”
And when he wants a view of what’s ahead, he calls someone who has already made the climb: Adael Amador.
“He’s been through a lot in his career, so he’s taught me a lot — what to expect, what he went through, what had helped him get to the major leagues,” Brito said. “He orients me. He’s been a huge help in my career.”
“I’m not done”
As the national attention grows — 2025 ACL MVP, the Futures Game nod, and now sitting within the top 100 of MLB Pipeline’s prospect rankings — Brito wants people to understand there’s more to his game than the bat, and more to him than the numbers.
“I’m an aggressive player. I’m going to give my all when I’m out there,” he said. “I’m not just a guy who can swing it well. I’m working on my fielding, I’m working on my running game — every aspect of the game.”
Off the field, the goal is simpler.
“I want to be the person who can be helpful to everyone,” he said. “If someone’s going through a bad stretch, I can be the upbeat guy that helps them keep their head up. Just an overall friendly guy they can trust and turn to.”
Sunday in Philadelphia is a box checked on the list he made before the season. It won’t be the last one.
“I’m not looking just at the past — I want to keep it going,” Brito said. “Trust me, I’m not done. I’ve put so much on myself to accomplish this year. The Futures Game is one of them, but I have more to accomplish, and I’m excited for it.”
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