Yankees fans confused by top prospect Elmer Rodriguez's unexplained absence

The New York Yankees didn't have any last-minute surprises planned with their Opening Night roster release, but we can't say the same about the folks down in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The Triple-A campaign began Friday night up in Buffalo, and the Yankees have created a stacked roster with spring training overflow. The RailRiders' rotation is set up to be one of the strongest in Triple-A history (don't fact check that), but one name is currently absent: the poised and polished Elmer Rodriguez.

What's up? It doesn't seem to be an injury problem; Scranton/Wilkes-Barre released a comprehensive IL, and he's not on it (though brand new signee Luis Garcia already is, so we know it's up to date).

Rodriguez is listed on the active roster, but with a symbol next to his name designating him as "temporarily inactive".

He probably would've been a candidate for Friday's Opening Day start — kinda crazy it's not Luis Gil, but that's life — which instead will go to Brendan Beck, who's overlooked but not undercooked. See, what did we tell you? Stacked team. Could probably beat the Twins and White Sox in the Central.

Yankees top prospect Elmer Rodriguez temporarily inactive in stacked Triple-A rotation

Rodriguez, the poised and polished 22-year-old who's probably the most advanced of the Yankees' immaculate trio, helped Puerto Rico out and made Red Sox fans afraid in the World Baseball Classic. He didn't appear in a Yankees spring training game past Feb. 26, the day he threw three two-run innings against the spring juggernaut Braves.

In his wake, the RailRiders will run Beck, Gil, and Carlos Lagrange out to get the season off on the right foot. Rodriguez is listed as temporarily inactive with no further detail, while veteran Rafael Montero, who battled visa issues all spring (not his first rodeo), is on the far more daunting Restricted List.

Other than Gil's timing-based demotion that might've rocked the boat slightly, the Yankees appear to be entering the season mostly drama-free, and even Bryce Cunningham, likely their fourth-ranked hurler who's purportedly a tick behind to start the year, was spotted throwing this past week. Ideally, whatever's going on with Rodriguez is sorted out quickly because, beyond Gil, he's the name who's most likely to rise to the big leagues before too long.

Yes, even quicker than Lagrange. The Yankees know exactly what Rodriguez is already, as long as he's around.