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Alden Gonzalez
SEATTLE — It occurred with relatively little recognition and was largely hidden behind his teammate’s outstanding performance, and surrounded by the eagerness for his team’s achievements, but Julio Rodriguez completed another 30/30 season this year. He and Bobby Witt Jr. stand alone as the only players to attain the feat twice before their 25th birthday, and Rodríguez is the singular player to accrue 110 home runs and 110 stolen bases through his first four seasons in the major leagues.
As the Seattle Mariners gear up for a critical Game 5 of their American League Division Series on Friday, the focal point of expectation will largely be Rodríguez. He has represented a constant wellspring of velocity and force — and top-tier center-field defense — ever since baseball lovers initially became fascinated with him as a 21-year-old back in 2022. Regardless, discussions involving him often circle back to what remains unfinished, the heights he has yet to ascend.
Individuals in his sphere seem unable to grasp it.
“It’s truly remarkable,” stated Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto. “Our anticipations are elevated to such heights because of his inherent capabilities, the thresholds that we’ve witnessed. However, he’s participated for four years in the major leagues. He’s achieved milestones that, in certain instances, no other player has accomplished within their initial four years. Assessing his track record, it positions him among the elite 23- to 25-year-old players historically. And yet, a collective expectation for even greater things persists.”
The limited spotlight frequently linked to performing for a smaller-market West Coast franchise might be a contributing element. Sharing a roster with Cal Raleigh during a year marked by setting a record for home runs by a switch-hitter, a catcher and a Mariner has unquestionably factored in as well. So, too, has the amplified anticipation emerging from being remarkably talented at a young age. However, any diminished appreciation of Rodríguez’s accomplishments may also originate from the unfolding of his seasons.
They habitually commence at an agonizingly slow pace, consistently making external parties ponder the current state of one of the sport’s greatest potential talents — only to abruptly reverse course. It transpired anew in 2025, but this time, Dipoto suggested, “the turning point was distinct.”
“In prior years, you could perceive the build-up, followed by his explosive launch. This year, there was no preparatory phase. It simply unfolded.”
It commenced on July 11, preceding a road series against the same Detroit Tigers team Rodríguez aims to eliminate from the postseason. The Mariners had recently been swept at Yankee Stadium, and Rodríguez was recording a .244/.301/.386. Among the 155 qualified hitters at that juncture, his OPS was ranked 125th. The players had selected him for his third All-Star team, yet Rodríguez, after discussions with some of his veteran teammates, opted out. He required both physical respite and mental clarity.
“It was a challenging choice,” Rodríguez acknowledged, “but I believe it signaled a certain degree of maturation. I would have cherished the chance to attend the All-Star Game, to enjoy the camaraderie and see familiar faces. But on the field, at that juncture, I needed a hiatus.”
Rodríguez conveyed his determination on the Friday leading up to that weekend series in Detroit, then demonstrated a 6-for-12 performance, including 3 home runs and 2 stolen bases, across a three-game sweep. Subsequently, he slashed .299/.356/.589, complemented by 21 home runs and 15 stolen bases over a 68-game stretch. His .954 OPS ranked seventh highest in the majors. His 3.8 fWAR was on par with Geraldo Perdomo for the most among position players. All things considered, he only followed Raleigh for the Mariners’ lead in home runs (32), was only behind Randy Arozarena in stolen bases (30) and was undoubtedly the team’s premier defensive player, accumulating 10 outs above average.
Integrating a high-tee drill employed by Raleigh — which preserved the steadiness of Rodríguez’s hands, curbed overstriding and, consequently, transformed numerous ground balls into line drives — facilitated the synchronization of Rodríguez’s mechanics. However, opting out of the All-Star Game, a decision Dipoto interpreted as indicating “considerable advancement” from one of his franchise cornerstones, served as a mental and emotional liberation.
“I simply believe that everything commenced flowing thereafter,” Rodríguez reflected. “I feel that I established myself in a more advantageous position mentally, physically, and I sense that that’s where everything genuinely coalesced for me.”
The Mariners exhibit the attributes of a team capable of embarking on a sustained October journey, a spectacle Seattle has not borne witness to in a generation. The rotation has revived its dominance from the prior year, the bullpen has proven resilient, and the lineup — still driven by Raleigh and Rodríguez but reinforced by the in-season additions of Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor — possesses more depth than it has in years. Nevertheless, the Mariners’ season is currently boiled down to a singular game.
The Mariners clinched their first home playoff victory in 24 years, propelled by Rodríguez’s double in the eighth inning of Sunday’s Game 2, and then positioned themselves on the cusp of advancing, aided by four early runs against Jack Flaherty in Tuesday’s Game 3. However, Detroit unleashed an offensive barrage against the Mariners’ middle relievers 24 hours later, thereby requiring a Game 5. AL Cy Young favorite Tarik Skubal will be on the mound for the Tigers, yet the Mariners prevailed the last time he pitched in Game 2 and performed effectively against him during the regular season. Furthermore, they will be back on their home turf.
“Everything lies ahead of us,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson stated. “These individuals have exemplified this approach throughout the season, where they encounter a challenging situation and possess a clear understanding of the appropriate response — they invariably fight back, and they invariably rebound.”
Rodríguez has adhered to this practice throughout his entire career.
As a rookie in 2022, he endured a dismal April before escalating and securing superstar status. In 2023, he salvaged his season with an exceptional August. In 2024, the scorching streak transpired in July. This year, it encompassed half of July, followed by the entirety of August and September. Rodríguez boasts a .737 career OPS in the first half and a .902 career OPS in the second half, representing a substantial 165-point increase.
“The more games he participates in,” Mariners right fielder Victor Robles remarked in Spanish, “the more proficient he becomes.”
To those in Rodríguez’s vicinity, however, his latest resurgence was less of a recurring pattern and more of an evolutionary step.
Dipoto, who has been acquainted with Rodríguez since he joined the organization as a 16-year-old, noted that he is “in a composed, collected, concentrated state, possibly unlike anything we’ve previously observed from him.” Raleigh identifies what he characterized as a “confident,” “on-balance” and “controlled” Rodríguez within the batter’s box in recent weeks.
Rodríguez showcased a career-low 21.4% strikeout rate in 2025, a reduction of 4 percentage points from the previous year. He has refined his ability, he stated, to sustain an all-fields approach, possessing a heightened understanding of when and where to capitalize for pulled home runs. He believes he harbors a more profound comprehension of himself in general, and the decision to skip the All-Star Game, an event Rodríguez cherishes above most, attested to this.
“Your body communicates with you,” Rodríguez explained. “You need to nurture a positive relationship with yourself and your body, and maintain honesty when you perceive that matters are not advancing in your desired trajectory and you seek enhancement and improved positioning. It becomes an intuitive understanding. You simply need self-awareness to arrive at those determinations.”
