Julio Rodriguez

Julio Rodriguez led the 2022 youth movement throughout MLB, skipping Triple-A to win Rookie of the Year with 29 of 30 first-place votes and electrifying the crowd at the HR Derby in July. He contributed across all batting categories, slugging 28 HR with 75 RBI, 84 runs, and 25 stolen bases. His slash line was impressive at .284/.345/.509 with a wOBA of .366. He missed time in the middle of the season with a finger injury he incurred while stealing a base, or he would have probably joined the 30/30 Club. His K% (25.9) and BB% (7.1) need improvement, but at age 22, he has plenty of time to work on these numbers. Fantasy managers can deal with those considering he is above the 90th percentile in Avg EV, Max EV, HardHit%, barrel%, outs above avg, and sprint speed. Making a case for him to go 1.1 in 2023 drafts isn't difficult.

Julio Rodriguez goes deep Wednesday

Julio Rodriguez went 1-for-2 with one RBI and one run Wednesday against the Tigers.

Fantasy Impact

Rodriguez hit a leadoff home run off Tyler Alexander for his 28th long ball on the season which broke a single-season record for Seattle for a rookie. He saw just two at-bats in a meaningless game for the Mariners. The likely AL Rookie of the Year will be needed in a big Wildcard series this weekend against the Blue Jays.