FINAL GRADES: Julio Rodriguez Season Was Reflective of Seattle Mariners Year
Being a franchise star is one of the most rewarding and thankless roles for a player to have in sports.
The face of the franchise gets the sponsors, the commercials, the big-money deals, the love of the fans. Sometimes star treatment.
Then there's the drawbacks. When the team struggles, fans and media point to the star. Every single strikeout and error is under a microscope. Every single misstep is criticized by fans and media. Even if the team's problems extend far beyond the star individually.
The Seattle Mariners' franchise player Julio Rodriguez got to see what the drawbacks looked like in 2024.
In the 23 year-old's previous two years in the big leagues, he helped lead the team to their first postseason appearance in 21 years, was named to the All-Star Game twice and was rewarded with a long-term deal that will (potentially) keep Rodriguez in the Pacific Northwest through 2034. Rodriguez even had a documentary air about him that was featured during 2024 All-Star Week.
In his third major league season in 2024, Rodriguez struggled in the first half of the season. He also suffered an ankle injury that kept him out of the Seattle outfield for over a month and out of the lineup for three weeks.
Rodriguez received a lot of criticism from fans and media. In a lot of ways, those struggles reflected the Mariners season.
Julio Rodriguez by the numbers
Games played: 143
Hitting stats: .273 BA, 20 HRs, 68 RBIs, 76 Runs, 17 Doubles, 38 BB, 156 SOs, .325 OBP, .409 SLG, .734 OPS, 4.3 WAR
Defensive stats: 343 TC, 5 Erros, .985 Fielding
Base running stats: 24 SB, 5 CS, 29.6 MPH Sprint Speed
Advanced hitting stats: 116 wRC+, 11 BRAA, 10.2% Barrel, 48.4% Hard-Hit, 37.4% Chase, 30.9% Whiff
Advanced defensive stats: 8 Range (OAA), 1 Arm Value, 91 MPH Arm Strength
What I liked
If this is what a "bad" season looks like for Julio Rodriguez, then Seattle is in a good spot going forward.
Rodriguez was among the best fast-ball hitters in the league. He hit .325 with .425 slugging and had a 55.4% hard-hit rate according to Baseball Savant.
Rodriguez also remained a solid hitter against breaking balls. He had a .250 average and slugged .411.
Rodriguez had just a couple months that could be qualified as "bad." He hit .206 in June and .234 in August. He returned from a three-week stint on the IL on the Aug. 11 and still wasn't 100% despite being in the lineup. Every other month he hit .267 or above.
Before Rodriguez suffered his ankle injury, he was batting .375 in 15 games in July. In September, he hit .328. He had 11 home runs and 30 RBIs in those two months.
Big game for Julio Rodríguez! 3-5 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI in the Mariners 8-2 win!
— StatsBrad (@StatsBrad) September 21, 2024
It’s his 4th multi-home run game of his career and also ties a career high with 5 RBI. #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/X6do1EWxgF
There's a very real argument to be had that if Rodriguez wasn't hurt, Seattle would've made the playoffs.
When Rodriguez made contact, he was among the best hitters in baseball. He ranked in the 69th percentile of the league in barrel rate, 89th percentile in hard-hit rate, 87th percentile in average exit velocity and 96th percentile in bat speed.
Rodriguez also continued to prove himself as one of the better defensive outfielders in the league with eight outs above average.
Best game
Rodriguez saved his best for last and had elite performances for the Mariners during their final postseason push.
Seattle won two-of-three in a series against the Texas Rangers from Sept. 20-22.
Rodriguez went 8-for-16 (.500) with three home runs, nine RBIs and scored four times in the three-game set.
Us: Let's play bal–
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) September 21, 2024
Julio: pic.twitter.com/DR6n0OtrIX
Rodriguez finished out September with a base hit in 18-of-26 games and had at least three hits in six contests.
Future prospects
Rodriguez is the undisputed face of the Mariners. He's not going anywhere anytime soon. No matter how much some overreacting fans were clamoring for him to be traded at several points in 2024.
And even though his season wasn't nearly as bad as some people made it out to be, there were still areas of concern.
Rodriguez hit .250 against off-speed pitches in his rookie season in 2022. In 2023, he hit .243 against the same throws. That number dipped to .173 in 2024.
Rodriguez is capable of getting air under his hits, which is probably why he was thrown just 298 off-speed throws in 2024 compared to 824 breaking balls.
Rodriguez was also tinkering with his swing motion a lot this season. He took coaching from fired team hitting instructor Jarret DeHart, personal hitting coach Ovi Diaz and the team's hitting coach at the end of the year, Edgar Martinez.
It wasn't until Martinez came on board that Rodriguez seemed to regain his confident and comfortable form in the batter's box.
There were several articles and reports that came out regarding Martinez and Rodriguez having a good relationship.
Martinez likely won't be back with Seattle in the same role in 2025. Or at least not in the same capacity. But he'll have a role on the team. Which will be for the offense's and Rodriguez's benefit.
Final Grade: B-plus
B-plus: Rodriguez's worst season as a major leaguer still earns him a decent mark in our final grade series.
Rodriguez's slow start this season definitely didn't help the Mariners' playoff aspirations. But on the list of reasons for why they didn't make the playoffs, Rodriguez is low on the list. His injury might have more to do with the squad watching October from home more than his actual play.
His clip against off-speed throws is also something that needs to be corrected. One down season isn't enough to be worried. But it can't become a trend.
There are those who will argue that Rodriguez's "B" grade still qualifies as a disappointing year due to him being viewed and paid as the face of the franchise.
Rodriguez's salary is set to jump by $8 million from $11,912,500 in 2024 to $19,912,500 in 2025. With his increase in salary, Rodriguez might be in for more criticism if he repeats his slow start next season.
But more than likely, Rodriguez will figure it out and continue to show why Seattle made that long-term commitment to begin with.
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