Julio Rodríguez tapping into tantalizing potential

Julio Rodríguez is showing signs that the Seattle Mariners and their fan base have been hoping to see for quite some time.

After it looked like another slow first half from the star center fielder was on its way, Rodríguez has gone on that tear that’s led to the best start of his five-year MLB career.

The 25 year old has a .269 batting average, .332 on-base percentage, .439 slugging percentage, .771 OPS, seven homers, eight doubles and 19 RBIs in 43 games. Those are all the best numbers he’s had through May 12 of a season.

A recent 19-game stretch has been the catalyst for Rodríguez’s success. From April 20 through May 11, he hit .350 (28 for 80) with a 1.011 OPS, six homers and five doubles.

Co-host Dave Wyman and producer Mike Lefko discussed Rodríguez’s career-best start and what it means for the Mariners during Tuesday’s edition of Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob.

“His slow start kind of got magnified very early in this year, but hopefully that’s gone by the wayside because right now Julio is off to the best stretch ever at this point in his career,” Lefko said.

Lefko highlighted Rodríguez’s early power numbers as being a much-needed boost for the Mariners’ lineup. The club lost plenty of power during the offseason when Eugenio Suárez and Jorge Polanco left in free agency. With the expected dip in production from Cal Raleigh following his 60-homer season last year added in, Lefko said Rodríguez’s impact at the plate is exactly what the M’s needed.

“A full season of Julio doing this? I think he can emerge as one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball,” Lefko said. “We saw tantalizing potential before and we’ve seen (it in) stretches.”

Wyman said that when watching Rodríguez, it’s evident he’s locked in and comfortable at the plate. He also believes this could be the start of Rodríguez shaking his reputation as a slow starter.

“He looks very dialed in and focused… I think that athletes conquer those kinds of things, if they’re really good athletes. And I know (the slow starts were) really only the only criticism about Julio,” said Wyman, a former NFL linebacker. “He’s a fantastic defender and he gets hot at times, but just the more consistent Julio Rodríguez has kind of showed up and I don’t know if it’s going away. It’s looking really good for him right now and you can just tell by the how relaxed he is that he is just feeling it right now.”

Lefko added in that Rodríguez performing well helps everybody around him in the lineup.

“Just think about what that does for a team if you have a guy that everyone knows going in, ‘Alright, he’s hot right now. We have to pitch so carefully around him.'”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player in this story. Listen to Wyman and Bob weekdays from 2-7 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. 

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