Mariners OF Julio Rodriguez Named AL Rookie of the Year

The 21-year-old phenom helped lead Seattle back to the playoffs with a historic debut season.

Following a season in which he became the first rookie ever with 25 home runs and 25 stolen bases, Mariners star center fielder Julio Rodríguez can add some hardware to his trophy case.

The 21-year-old Rodríguez, who earlier this month won his first Silver Slugger award, was voted as the American League’s Rookie of the Year on Monday. He beat out Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman and Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan—the other two finalists—receiving 29 out of 30 first-place votes.

Julio Rodríguez had himself one helluva rookie season 🔥

- AL Rookie Of The Year ✅
- MLB All-Star ✅
- Silver Slugger Award ✅
– Helped end the Mariners' 21-year playoff drought ✅

🏆: https://t.co/enikJLFlKA pic.twitter.com/oVeh7guiqH

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) November 14, 2022

Rutschman received the other first-place vote and finished in second. Kwan finished third, while Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. and Houston’s Jeremy Peña coming in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Rodriguez made Seattle’s Opening Day roster and came out of the gates slowly in April before catching fire, eventually earning a selection to the AL’s All-Star team. He hit .284/.345/.509 in 132 games with 28 homers, 25 stolen bases and 84 runs scored.

Rodríguez helped spearhead Seattle’s run to the postseason, the first for the franchise since 2001. He is the second Mariners player in the past three years to be named the Rookie of the Year and fifth all-time, joining Alvin Davis (1984), Kazuhiro Sasaki (’00), Ichiro Suzuki (’01) and Kyle Lewis (’20).