Seattle Mariners: Julio Rodriguez is breaking the curve
Seattle Mariners rookie Julio Rodriguez is tearing up the Cactus League this spring. Even at 21-years-old, J-Rod is way ahead of the curve.
Seattle Mariners phenom Julio Rodriguez is the real deal. He’s not just the real deal with his bat but also with his glove and his fielding. Julio Rodriguez has THE attitude. He gets it, and while he’s not yet a superstar, he has the attitude that you want superstar athletes to have.
J-Rod, as he’s affectionately called, is well ahead of the curve from a talent perspective. In 2021, with two stops in the minors, he did everything right. Batted .347 with a 1.001 OPS between Everett and Arkansas. Here’s the thing, though, he got better at Double-A, batting .362 with a 1.007 OPS. He stole 21 bases had 13 home runs in 291 combined at bats.
Should he get some seasoning at Triple-A first? No. To prove what? That he can hit a curveball? That he can hit off-speed stuff? His performance is already ahead of the curve.
Rodriguez has proven that he’s a quick study already. In 2019, he started off at Low-A ball and hit .293 and improved as he went along, and when he was promoted to Modesto (High-A back in 2019), he batted .462 in 65 at bats.
While Rodriguez started slow, he batted nearly .400 between August and September in 145 at bats. This happens every year with J-Rod. So even though teams have more information on him, he’s adjusting; he’s learning. At this rate, he’s not only ahead of the curve, but Rodriguez is about to break it.
Precedence tells us that someone must be a special player to come up to the majors at age 21 or earlier. In fact, the Mariners have rarely done it, and General Manager Jerry Dipoto has only done it twice before Julio Rodriguez. Mike Trout and last year with Jarred Kelenic.
You can argue that players seem to be coming up younger and younger. But the reality is that MLB teams are getting better and bringing up the future superstars faster.
In good company
It’s a trend that has become more and more prevalent since 2011. Mike Trout debuted at 19 in 2011. Bryce Harper was also 19 years old when he came up in 2012. Here’s a list of current stars that debuted at age 21 or earlier, in addition to Trout, Harper, and Kelenic.
Manny Machado (20) in 2012
Xander Bogaerts (20) in 2013
Rafael Devers (20) in 2017
Ozzie Albies (20) in 2017
Ronald Acuna Jr.(20) in 2018
Juan Soto (19) in 2018
Gleyber Torres (21) in 2018
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (20) in 2019
Fernando Tatis Jr. (20) in 2019
Yordan Alvarez (21) in 2019
Wander Franco (20) in 2021
These are just the hitters. You’ll notice that many of the players are from the international community. Julio Rodriguez is the next big name on the 21 or under debuting in the big league’s list. He’s ready; he’s earned it. The Seattle Mariners need to let Rodriguez build off of a strong spring and even stronger 2021 and let him roam the outfield.
Not a finished product
Watching the game on March 30, Rodriguez showed he still has some areas of improvement available. First, Jonathan Villar tricked J-Rod, which prevented the 21-year-old from scoring. Rodriguez also lost an easy fly ball in the high Arizona sky leading to a run for the Cubs.
The Seattle Mariners and their fans will have to be patient and remember that despite all his talent, J-Rod will still be a rookie, and rookies make rookie mistakes.
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Joe Swenson is an award winning playwright, author, Maine resident, lifelong Seattle everything fan.