Julio Rodriguez sometimes gets grief from fans because of his streakiness, but his impact his undeniable.
While the 2025 Seattle Mariners were very much centered around the historic season of catcher Cal Raleigh, the impact of outfielder Julio Rodriguez cannot be overshadowed.
The 25-year-old, who finished sixth in the American League MVP voting, hit .267 with 32 homers and 95 RBIs, also stealing 30 bases. Though his streakiness can sometimes be frustrating to fans, his overall impact is undeniable. It's actually historic, as noted by Just Baseball on social media:
The only primary centerfielder in the last 50 years to go 20-20 four times before turning 25:
Julio Rodriguez
Rodriguez won the Rookie of the Year Award in 2022, hitting 28 homers and driving in 75 with 25 steals. Then, he hit 32 homers and drove in 103 with 37 steals. Then, he had 20 homers and 68 RBIs in 2024 with 24 steals before his big year in 2025.
He and Raleigh help to make up one of the best 1-2 punches in baseball, and they should have plenty of protection with the likes of Brendan Donovan, Josh Naylor and Randy Arozarena around them.
After winning 90 games and the American League West crown in 2025, the Mariners enter 2026 as one of the favorites in the American League to get to the World Series.
Rodriguez has hit a whopping .556 through four Cactus League games, also pelting three doubles. However, he's away from the team now in order to play for the Dominican Republic in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. He's one of several M's players who will be leaving for the Classic including Raleigh (USA), Arozarena (Mexico), Naylor (Canada), Andres Munoz (Mexico), Gabe Speier (USA), Eduard Bazardo (Venezuela), Miles Mastrobuoni (Italy) and Dominic Canzone (Italy).
The tournament begins March 5.
Also in the news for the M's
--The Mariners will take on the San Diego Padres in Cactus League action on Saturday afternoon (12:10 p.m. PT). Kade Anderson, drafted No. 3 overall in the 2025 MLB Draft out of LSU, will make his professional debut. We watched him in an electric live bullpen session last week at the Peoria Sports Complex.
--The latest episode of the 'Refuse to Lose' podcast is out, featuring a quick talk with Cole Young and the latest on the battle for the final bullpen spot, as well as what we've seen from Mariners starters in the early going. The next episode will come out Monday night or Tuesday morning as Cactus League play rolls on.
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