Black MLB Players #5: CF Julio Rodríguez, Seattle Mariners
One of baseball's dynamic young stars, Julio Rodríguez is the centerpiece of a young and talented Seattle Mariners ball club that is looking for postseason success.
Background + Path to Professional Baseball
Julio Rodríguez is a twenty-two-year-old centerfielder that plays for the Seattle Mariners. He is from Loma de Cabrera, a small town of 20,000 in the Dominican Republic. Rodríguez noticed that he was good at baseball around 14–15 because most of the guys he played baseball with were older than him and getting signed by MLB organizations.
He trained with Quico Peña, who has trained a lot of other international prospects from the Dominican Republic. The Mariners discovered the talented outfielder at a showcase when he was fourteen years old, and as he approached eligibility (Have to be 16 or older by the start of the signing period) to be signed as an amateur free agent he was deemed one of the best international prospects in his J2 class.
Rodríguez agreed to a contract to become a professional baseball player with the Seattle Mariners on the very first day of that year’s J2 Signing Period, receiving a $1,750,000 dollar signing bonus as one of the premier foreign-born teenage prospects in his class. Rodríguez was the subject of a lot of hype from various evaluators throughout the realms of baseball due to his ability to hit for contact combined with massive raw power. He was immediately labeled as one of the Mariners’ top ten prospects, and since then has held a massive amount of pedigree within the various realms of baseball.
He began his professional career at the age of 17 years old in the Dominican Summer League in 2018, playing all but one of 60 games during the season and winning the MVP award in that league. He went .315/.404/.525 with 13 doubles, nine triples, 10 stolen bases, and five home runs. Some individuals thought that the teenager was already advanced enough to face Class-A pitching based on the ability to hit for average and the power that he frequently put on display.
For the 2019 MiLB season, J-Rod would play 67 games with Seattle’s Low-A affiliate and 17 games with the organization’s High-A affiliate. He went .326/.390/.540 in 367 plate appearances with 26 doubles and 12 home runs. In 2021, he put up a .347/.441/.560 stat line in 74 games with 21 stolen bases, 19 doubles, and 13 home runs between Seattle’s High-A and Double-A affiliates.
Julio Rodriguez would make his MLB debut on Opening Day 2022. He played 132 games at the MLB level in 2022, batting .284/.345/.509 with 25 doubles, 28 home runs, and 25 stolen bases. He represented the AL in the 2022 MLB All-Star Game, won the AL Rookie of the Year Award, placed seventh in AL MVP voting, and won the Silver Slugger Award for the centerfield position.
Player Profile
Julio Rodríguez is an outfielder who bats and throws right-handed, is 6'3'’, and weighs 225 pounds. He is equally athletic as he is massive, being able to play all three outfield spots comfortably but primarily profiles as a center fielder.
Hitting
He has a lightspeed fast swing powered by quick hands and strong wrists to go with an innate ability to rotate his hips and use his core/lower body to drive the ball. He holds his hands near his head before bringing them into hitting position, and when he swings with a swing path similar to hitters like Mike Trout and Ronald Acuña Jr. two fellow righty outfielders who get the most out of their top-tier athleticism in the batter’s box.
Rodríguez has an approach that is oriented around pulling the ball and going the opposite way. He mostly hits ground balls and line drives, as he has yet to truly tap into his immense raw power and lift the ball more often. Despite this, his Home Run to Fly Ball ratios, BABIPs, and ISOs at every level he has played have been above average, as is the amount of extra-base hits he has accrued so far as a pro.
Throughout his tenure in the minors, Rodríguez has made approach tweaks that have helped him draw more walks and potentially made him above-average in another facet of the game. To exponentially improve his walk rate after a work stoppage that lasted over a year and some change while being one of the youngest players in the leagues he is playing in is a huge green flag.
But wait there is more: making the jump the Double-A at twenty years old and increasing his walk rate by another third is a surefire sign that Rodríguez is extremely advanced for his age. He frequently makes effective adjustments and performs while changing things, which is a sign of maturity and intelligence.
He has an excellent ability to make contact, never posting a batting average below .293 across a little over one thousand plate appearances he has accrued so far in his MiLB career. His strikeout rates hover between the mid-teens and very low 20s but that is mostly due to a swing-driven approach.
J-Rod has carried this success over into the big leagues seamlessly for his rookie season. His average exit velocity, maximum exit velocity, barrel rate, and hard hit percentage were all above the 90th percentile per Baseball Savant.
Defense
Rodríguez is a slightly above-average defender in center field, as he willed himself into being skilled at the position. J-Rod’s strongest assets are his speed and his throwing arm, which is one of the best in all of MLB regardless of position.
Baserunning
Julio Rodriguez is one of baseball’s top-tier baserunners, being able to accumulate steals without getting caught frequently and posting a BsR value that proves he can do more than just swipe a bag.
Contract
Julio Rodriguez is signed to a contract with the Seattle Mariners that has base terms of seven years, $105 million (2023-2029) with various options and escalators that could drive the value and length of the contract based on J-Rod’s success on the field.
The club options are 8-10 years (2030-2037/2039), ranging from $200 million to $350 million. The player option is 5 years, $90 million (2030-2034) with incentives that can add on another $35 million. There’s also a potential mutual option that runs from 2030-2036 for 6 years worth $136 million. The deal also includes a full no-trade clause. All in all, the contract has a total potential value of $470 million dollars.
Conclusion
The centerpiece in a talented group of young talent that Jerry Dipoto has quietly compiled during his tenure pulling the strings in Seattle, Julio Rodriguez has the potential to be a perennial MVP candidate. Another young star to have begun his career with the Seattle Mariners, the center fielder is lauded by the Seattle front office, evaluators on the outside looking in, writers, fans, etc. for his wonderful personality and personability. He quickly picked up English and is praised for his work ethic and intelligence. Even as a star who has had eyes on him since his early teens, he is a very open book that is not afraid to mingle with people in person and on social media.