Stacy Rost: Where has Julio Rodríguez’s power gone for the Mariners?

You know something that feels weird about Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez?

They have the exact same number of hits this season. A total of 81 apiece, tied for first on the Seattle Mariners.

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The reason it feels a bit weird is because Rodríguez’s season — initially off to one of the better first halves of his career compared to seasons’ past in terms of total hits — has felt a bit lackluster. Disappointing, even.

Meanwhile, Raleigh has been a sight to behold. He’s already broken Johnny Bench’s record home runs by a catcher before the All-Star Break.

And that’s the big issue here. Rodríguez, whose combination of size and speed makes him in theory the best all-around player on the Mariners’ roster, just isn’t slugging. And that’s a problem, because a Mariners offense that doesn’t have the number of superstars in their lineup that some of the best teams in baseball do badly needs him to play up to the bill.

He’s better in the outfield this year (1.8 defensive WAR), and he’s striking out less often. That’s great! But just 31% of his 81 hits have been for extra bases. Compare that to Raleigh, who has doubled or hit a home run on 58% of all hits this season. He’s slugging an astronomical .651, while Rodríguez is at a career-low .403 with a 43.8% hard hit rate. He’s hitting more ground balls (49.6%) and fewer line drives (18.7%) than in any other season. And it’s hard to argue he’s just been unlucky (.290 BABIP).

Rodríguez has hit safely as many times as this team’s best player… but it’s not been nearly the same quality of hits. He’s just 24 years old and has Edgar Martinez on the Mariners’ hitting staff. Where’d the power go?

Yahoo Sports’ Jordan Shusterman joined us Wednesday on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy with good news and bad news. The bad news is he’s not quite sure why we aren’t seeing more power from Rodríguez either. The good news is that the power’s still there.

🗣️ JULIOOOOO

🌟 https://t.co/Q16mvWt8m4 🌟 pic.twitter.com/HnOipbYnsF

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) June 24, 2025

“The thing about Julio, as it’s related to Cal, is that Cal is so amazing at pulling the ball in the air,” Shusterman said. “What Julio has become this season is still a good player, productive, an awesome defender, a good baserunner, all those things. But he’s pulling the ball in the air less than he ever has. Now, he’s cut down on strikeouts, but he’s still chasing a lot. So what that means is we’re getting worse contact.

“At the same time, you just saw it earlier this week – those swings still exist. (Writer’s context: Check out the video above from Monday’s win over the Twins.) It’s not like he doesn’t have power anymore. The bat speed is still elite. So I’m interested to see if he can turn that power switch back on because it’s not gone. It’s just that, for whatever reason, his approach right now is not producing any amount of power. I’d rather him be striking out 25% of the time if it means his slugging was 50 points higher. And right now, it’s just an impactful right-handed bat. And that’s what they’re missing.”

Hear the full Bump and Stacy conversation with Yahoo Sports’ Jordan Shusterman in the podcast at this link, the video at the top of this post or audio player below. Catch Bump and Stacy from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports.

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