BROCK AND SALK

Passan: Mariners’ Julio currently ‘as good as a baseball player can be’

Aug 22, 2023, 3:49 PM

The Seattle Mariners are on one heck of a run, and at the center of it all is their young superstar.

Drayer: How the Seattle Mariners have turned into the AL’s hottest team

Center fielder Julio Rodríguez has been on fire and then some at the plate, slashing .346/.393/.555 (.948 OPS) in 43 games since July 1. He’s been even better in August, slashing a ridiculous .412/.444/.659 (1.103 OPS) in 18 games. That includes a stretch where Rodriguez had four or more hits in four straight games, tallying 17, which is an MLB record for a four-game stretch. That hot streak earned him American League Player of the Week honors.

With Rodríguez hot, the Mariners are 32-13 since the start of July.

“It’s been nice to see, right?” ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan told Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Tuesday. “And let’s also not discount the axiom that I said earlier this season that I feel like it’s probably the truest thing I’ve said on these airwaves – which is as Julio goes, so go the Mariners. And as Julio has been a top-five player in baseball over the last month and the best player in baseball over the last week and so on and so forth, the Mariners have been pretty freaking awesome.”

Passan has covered MLB for roughly two decades and has seen a lot of great players doing great things. So just how impressive was Rodríguez’s week last week?

“I don’t think impressive even begins to describe what last week was. Last week was about as good as a baseball player can be,” Passan said. “I don’t think there’s any other way to really put it.”

“In this game where if you succeed 30% of the time at the plate, you are a no-doubt first-ballot Hall of Famer, and Julio spent four days succeeding 75% of the time?” Passan added with a laugh.

Before his first four-hit game last week in Kansas City, Rodríguez had two four-hit games in his career.

“Then he had four (games) in a row with four or more hits. That’s baseball, yes, but that’s not an accident,” Passan said. “A four-hit game is a really difficult thing to do. Two in a row is darn-near impossible. Anything beyond that, you have to be either the most locked-in player of all-time, or just really incredibly talented. And I think in Julio’s case, those two things happened to intersect at the same time.”

Listen to the full discussion with Passan at this link or in the player near the top of this story.

Seattle Mariners Playoff Race: Are M’s making Buhner-style surge for AL West?

Brock and Salk podcast

Brock and Salk

Seattle Seahawks Michigan Kenneth Grant...

Zac Hereth

Seahawks Draft: Why insider projects surprising first-round pick

Former NFL scout Daniel Jeremiah on why he has Michigan DT Kenneth Grant has going to the Seattle Seahawks in the first round.

22 hours ago

Seattle Mariners Jorge Polanco 3B third base...

Brent Stecker

If 3B defense is lacking, Mariners have intriguing backup option

The Seattle Mariners are turning to Jorge Polanco at third base, but if his defense isn't up to par, there's a prospect whose glove definitely is.

2 days ago

Seattle Seahawks New York Jets Devon Witherspoon Julian Love Leonard Williams...

Cameron Van Til

Brock Huard makes prediction for Seahawks’ defense in 2025

Brock Huard has high hopes for what the Seattle Seahawks' defense could accomplish in Year 2 of the Mike Macdonald era.

2 days ago

Seattle Seahawks Jaxson Dart Ole Miss...

Zac Hereth

Insider: Why Seahawks could take rising QB in first round

NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah a standout SEC quarterback could be a viable option for the Seattle Seahawks.

2 days ago

...

Seattle Sports Video

Video: Jaxson Dart at Pick #18? with Daniel Jeremiah | Seattle Sports

NFL Network Analyst and former NFL scout Daniel Jeremiah makes his weekly appearance with Brock & Salk to discuss options for the Seahawks at pick 18. —- Listen to The Brock & Salk Show weekdays from 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. on Seattle Sports 710 AM or on-demand wherever you listen to podcasts. —– For […]

3 days ago

Seattle Seahawks Geno Smith trade Raiders Pete Carroll...

Brent Stecker

Would Carroll’s OC want Raiders to trade Seahawks for Geno?

Now that Pete Carroll has hired Chip Kelly as his Raiders OC, Brock Huard discusses if that makes a Seattle Seahawks trade of QB Geno Smith more likely.

4 days ago

Passan: Mariners’ Julio currently ‘as good as a baseball player can be’