Brady's Spin: Julio Rodriguez Had an At-Bat on Thursday That Made Me Downright Sad
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Trailing 2-0 in the top of the sixth inning on Thursday against the Minnesota Twins, Seattle Mariners star Julio Rodriguez stepped to the plate against Brock Stewart. Like you, I had hoped that Rodriguez could hit a game-tying home run to score J.P. Crawford, but instead, Rodriguez swung through a one-strike fastball and a two-strike fastball.
Two, run-of-the-mill 95 mph fastballs, essentially down the middle, piped right past your most talented player. I've focused a lot this season on Rodriguez's approach, and I've been frustrated by it a lot too, but on Thursday, I just wasn't.
In fact, a different wave of emotions came over me: Sadness. Sadness that a great player, who has been an All-Star twice by the age of 24, looks so lost at the plate, so often, that an average fastball from a mid-level bullpen arm, could make him look so helpless.
I discussed more of this on the recent Refuse To Lose podcast, which came out on Friday:
Okay? The approach, I believe, is a huge part of it. What are you looking for and when are you looking for it? I believe that to be a huge thing. And for Julio, very clearly right now, I think the answer to those questions is, 'I don't know.' He doesn't. He's not on time for the fastball. It's like he's not expecting it. He's missing it a lot of the time, when he's getting it. He's chasing the other pitches. The discipline is not there. It feels like Julio is guessing at the play more often than not.
You can listen to more of my thoughts on that at-bat and my emotions from it in the podcast player below:
The Mariners will play the Texas Rangers on Friday at 5:05 p.m. PT.
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