This has been a confounding season for Julio Rodríguez. Coming off a Rookie of the Year in 2022 and his second straight Silver Slugger season in 2023 which accompanied a 4th overall finish in MVP voting, expectations were understandably stratospheric for the 23-year-old. Of his 40 teammates thus far this season for the Seattle Mariners, including four players who made their MLB debuts, the lone player younger than Rodríguez has been his friend Jonatan Clase. But youth is a bronze shield against ironclad concerns, as it took a stratospheric August in 2023 to motor Julio out of his doldrums last year, and this season’s struggles create genuine concerns about the young star’s ability to adjust mid-season.
What will it take for Julio Rodríguez to pull through?
