Seattle Mariners: Julio Rodriguez is the poster boy for automation
This season, Julio Rodriguez struck out 25 times, which is good enough for the second-highest total of 2022, one “K” behind Atlanta’s Dansby Swanson. Every indication in the young season is that he can’t hit Major League breaking pitches (curves, sliders, others). A dozen of his 25 strikeouts have been on breaking pitches. Twelve more came from fastballs. His other strikeout was on a changeup.
MLB pitchers have caught on. Rodriguez faced a lot of breaking pitches (50.6% of total pitches), while he’s faced fewer fastballs but is striking out at a higher clip on heaters. He also has a higher whiff percentage on fastballs (38.1 vs. 31.4 percent) than on breaking pitches. While these numbers are bad, the eye test tells us something slightly different.
Pitchers aren’t throwing strikes to the Seattle Mainers centerfielder, yet he’s still getting called out on strikes too much. Of the pitches thrown to him, only 5.2 percent have been center-cut (AKA center-center zone), which is 20% below the league average. Even when pitchers don’t throw down the middle, they dance along the edges with Julio.
For proof, J-Rod has been called out on strikes a league-high 14 times this season. Of those 14 times he’s been called out on strikes, according to CBS Sports Plot Chart, he’s been struck out on eight balls clearly outside the zone.
While an argument could be made that 13 of the 14 pitches that have been called third strikes could’ve gone the other way. His first true third strike on an actual, no-doubter happened in Sunday’s game against Kansas City.
The chart below shows the location of Rodriguez’s called third strikes.
Julio Rodriguez’s called strike 3 locations.