Seattle Mariners' Phenom Did Something No Other Player in Baseball Did in 2023
The 2024 baseball season officially begins in earnest in about six weeks when spring training starts.
But before we can look forward, let's take a quick look back at 2023 and one of the game's most special accomplishments.
According to Sarah Langs of MLB.com, Seattle Mariners star Julio Rodriguez was the only player in baseball last year to rank in the 90th percentile in batting, baserunning and defense.
She posted his exact percentages via a Baseball Savant graphic:
Rodriguez put together a special year for the Mariners, who finished 88-74 and missed the playoffs by one game. He hit .275 for Seattle with 32 homers and 103 RBI. He also stole 37 bases and made the All-Star Game for the second straight year.
It was quite the follow-up performance to his Rookie of the Year season in 2022 when he hit .284 with 28 homers and 75 RBI.
Rodriguez is one of the top young players in all of baseball and he's absolutely the key to the Mariners' success. If Seattle is going to rebound from a disappointing 2023, he'll have to be the driving force yet again. He certainly has the tools to be that catalyst, so we'll see what he does in his age 23 season.
The Mariners currently are working on getting protection around Rodriguez in the order. They have signed Mitch Garver in free agency but have seen Eugenio Suarez, Jarred Kelenic and Teoscar Hernandez exit this offseason.
They likely need at least one more bat to give Rodriguez enough help in the lineup. It's why M's fans continue to advocate for the team to sign Jorge Soler in free agency.
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