One of the defining storylines of this MLB offseason (tough certainly not the storyline) was the debate over who was the top prospect in baseball: Bobby Witt, Jr., Adley Rutschman, or Julio Rodríguez. After making their respective Opening Day rosters, Julio and Witt have graduated from prospect lists. But Adley made his debut moments before today’s Mariners game ended. Having been ranked below Adley on every major list, Julio was not willing to cede the day’s baseball headlines to him so easily.
Julio didn’t wait long to make an impression. It was clear the Mariners’ plan was to jump on Garret Whitlock early today, by which I mean both early in the game and early in the count.