Julio Rodriguez

After underwhelming throughout the vast majority of the regular season, Rodriguez caught fire again late to reach 20-20 for the third straight year to begin his MLB career. Arbitrary endpoint warning: Rodriguez sat with a .660 OPS, 11 homers and 40 RBI on the morning of Aug. 28. He would go on to slash .349/.386/.597 with nine homers and 28 RBI over his final 29 games, though it wasn't enough to drag the Mariners and their bottom-10 scoring offense to the postseason. He was efficient on the basepaths, but his attempts dipped, in particular after he returned from an IL stint due to a right ankle sprain. Rodriguez struggled against offspeed pitches to the tune of a .173 average and .199 xBA last season, but he made up for it to an extent by punishing fastballs. While his strikeout and walk numbers have not shown any tangible improvement in his three years in the league, and he looked more like a star than a superstar in 2024, it's important to remember he's just entering his age-24 season. There is still superstar upside here to go with a high floor. Read Past Outlooks