Second-half surge has Mariners’ Julio Rodriguez approaching rare air
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – It’s no surprise that the Mariners’ summer resurgence has coincided with the return of Julio Rodriguez to his 2022 form.
Rodriguez has been one of the American League’s most productive hitters since July 1, and the Mariners, in turn, are the hottest team in the American League over that same stretch, vaulting back into the wild-card playoff picture.
“When he’s doing his thing, we’re really good,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said Monday as the Mariners kicked off a 10-game trip. “We’re a different type of team. He’s just that talented.”
In his previous 36 games entering Monday, Rodriguez ranked fifth in the league with a 1.6 FanGraphs Wins Above Replacement, tied with teammate J.P. Crawford and just behind Shohei Ohtani’s 1.7 fWAR. (Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. ranks No. 1 with a 2.3 fWAR since July 1.)
In 168 plate appearances, Rodriguez had six home runs and 25 runs driven in, hitting .292 with a .351 on-base percentage and a .487 slugging percentage (.838 OPS), numbers that closely align with his 2022 AL Rookie of the Year statistics (.284/.345/.509).
Rodriguez entered Monday with a Baseball Reference WAR of 3.6 this season, giving him a bWAR of 9.8 through his first 246 career games.
Just 22 players in MLB history have achieved a 10.0 bWAR in their first two seasons, a list that includes 11 Hall of Famers and at least three future Hall of Famers (Albert Pujols, Mike Trout and Ichiro, the only Mariner on the list).
Frank Robinson (13.4 bWAR) and Johnny Pesky (13.4) top the list.
Lesson learned for Munoz
A day later, Servais offered more detail on his ninth-inning ejection in Sunday’s extra-innings loss to Baltimore.
With runners on first and second and no outs, Andres Munoz was called for a balk by third-base umpire Adam Beck.
Servais was almost immediately ejected while still in the dugout because, he said, after he had made a simple waving motion with his hand. Not a flagrant objection, he felt.
After getting tossed, Servais then, of course, came out to argue vehemently with Beck.
It was his third ejection of the season.
“It was a balk,” Servais said. “That’s not why I was upset. I was upset because I got ejected from the game for doing nothing. And when you’re in an extra-inning game and you’re not in the dugout, you don’t feel good about that.”
It’s the second time Munoz has been called for a balk this season. Munoz did not come to a set position before starting his motion, trying to hurry his delivery in that situation, knowing the Orioles had a base-stealing threat (Jorge Mateo) at second base.
“You want to be quick to the plate, but you do need to come to a complete stop,” Servais said. “He has to be more aware of it.”