Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez Starting to Get Hot
Even With Just Four Home Runs, Julio Rodriguez's Stats is Trending
Julio Rodriguez
Julio Rodriguez
Seattle Mariners44
23 years old (12-29-2000)
1,90 cm
Dominican
Centerfielder
West Virginia Power
Seattle OF Julio Rodriguez Has Work to Do to Surpass 2024 Hitting Expectations
A slow start might have been a concern to some who bet online, but Seattle Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez is too talented to remain in a slump for an entire season.
When looking at Julio Rodriguez’s stats, Rodriguez hit .267 in April and is at .283 in May as he is starting to heat up for a Seattle team that is leading the American League West.
Rodriguez had home runs in back-to-back games in a weekend series against the Washington Nationals. However, he has just four home runs after having 10 home runs through the end of May during the 2023 season.
With Rodriguez leading the way, Seattle holds the fourth-shortest odds at +800 in the MLB American League championship odds.
With four runs, eight hits, and two home runs in a recent four-game stretch, Rodriguez earned MLB Player of the Week recognition.
Hits Are Starting to Come
Rodriguez hit just 3-for-16 with one extra-base hit in four games during March, and by April 15, the former American League Rookie of the Year had a batting average of just .190 with a .206 slugging percentage. Those were not the Julio Rodriguez stats many were expecting from one of baseball’s bright young stars.
The Dominican started to turn the corner when he had at least two hits seven times in a nine-game stretch in April. The Washington Nationals will be happy if they don’t see Rodriguez come to the plate again.
In the last two games in the recently completed series, Rodriguez was 4-for-9 as he hit home runs in back-to-back games for the first time this season.
In the series finale against Washington, Rodriguez had a solo home run in the second inning, the game-tying RBI single in the eighth inning, and then added a two-run single in the ninth inning in a 9-5 win.
“I definitely loved the bases-loaded single to the other side on the fastball,” RodrÃguez told the media. “The homer was cool and everything but in that moment right there, the moment it happened, I feel like I liked that one the most.”
There is still some work to do for Rodriguez as he is 64th among qualified MLB American League batters with a .345 slugging percentage.
Rodriguez is Just Getting Started
It is easy to forget that Rodriguez is still only 23 as he is in his third season with the Mariners.
Rodriguez hit .284 with 28 home runs, 75 RBIs, and 25 stolen bases in 132 games as a rookie in 2022.
His average dipped to .275 a season ago but Rodriguez had 37 doubles, 32 home runs, 103 RBIs, and 37 stolen bases as he joined the 30-30 club at 22. There are so many impressive Julio Rodriguez stats even this early in his MLB career.
During the 2023 season, the top two months when Rodriguez had the most home runs were August and September.
Julio Rodriguez was tied for ninth with 19 home runs after the MLB All-Star break in 2023 and he was eighth with 54 RBIs. Only three MLB American League players had a higher slugging percentage in the second half of the season than Rodriguez so better days could be coming for Rodriguez.
Lofty Expectations For J-Rod
Coming into the season, Rodriguez and outfielder Juan Soto of the New York Yankees had the second-shortest odds to win the MLB American League Most Valuable Player award, trailing only former MVP Aaron Judge.
There were -115 odds for Rodriguez to finish the regular season with more than 31.5 home runs with -115 odds to top 88.5 RBIs when the season began. Those making MLB expert picks were all over those odds before the season.
Rodriguez would have just 12 home runs and 61 RBIs at his current pace.
A quick look at the MLB results will show that Seattle is 13-5 when Rodriguez has at least two hits this season and just 6-13 when Rodriguez failed to get a hit.
Plenty to Play For in Seattle
Seattle finished the 2023 season with 88 wins, more than three teams that made it into the playoffs. Making matters worse, division rival Texas finished with just two more wins than the Mariners before making a run at the franchise’s first World Series title. The Seattle players were left with a sense of what might have been.
Playing in a division with the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers, the winners of the last two World Series, Seattle is leading the MLB American League West Division with a 29-26 record. Texas is 3.5 games back and Houston is 5.5 games behind the Mariners when looking at the Seattle Mariners standings.
If the playoffs began today, the MLB American League playoff field would include only one team from the American League West.
Rodriguez helped the Mariners win 90 games during the 2022 season, as Seattle reached the MLB playoffs for the first time since 2001. He is driven to get Seattle back into the playoffs after just missing a spot in the postseason in 2023.
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