Julio Rodriguez Star or a Ton of Hype ?
All professional athletes are very talented...that's why they are professionals at the highest level. Before I get too far I realize that he is a very young baseball player who is a terrific athlete with a bunch of talent. His HR derby exploits are awesome to say the least. I do think he is improving defensively. I've watched a bunch of games and to say that he is great or a superstar is just not true. He's not a great hitter by any means yet. I hope all of this fame does not hurt him. He's already treated as if he's like an all time great. Here are his stats from this season. I can't be the only one thinking that everyone should pump the brakes on all the legend talk. Also, I like him and hope he does become a great player.
.251 BA
.313 OBP
.419 SLG
.732 OPS
17 HR
58 RBI
126 K's
Comments
Could be another Juan Soto
The numbers look a lot better if you remove June.
The first year the league is trying to figure you out, the second year youre trying to figure the league out. Its very common for a regression in year two.
Wisconsin 2-6 against the SEC since 2007
I like his attitude, I like his energy, I do not like how he swings and misses at way to many pitches at crucial moments of a game. and I am a Mariners fan.
Perfectly stated. Yes, he will basically swing at anything. He gets jammed a ton and swings at sliders way out of the zone regularly. I hope he can figure it out
Soto has a 166 OPS+ this year...
He still isn't as great as he was being talked about though
Hes been a disaster for the Padres who got absolutely fleeced in that trade. He was terrible for them last year. Part of his crazy high OPS+ is his walk rate. He gets a superstar strike zone and theres a lot of strikes that dont get called on him. Hes terrible in the field with a noodle arm and a base clogger so the walks really dont mean much with how slow he is. If (probably more like when) we go to an automated strike zone his walk rate is going to drop significantly.
Wisconsin 2-6 against the SEC since 2007
He was awful last year, no question. But he's been really good this year. He's played every game, is on on pace for 33 homers or so, and is 6th in slugging.
They absolutely overpaid for him last year, no question.
I'd love to see some evidence that he's getting piles of walks because umpires are not calling the strike zone correctly with him at the plate. Given that they are all graded against an automated system already, that seems unlikely but I'd love to see it if you can back up that claim.
https://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2019/9/4/20848679/juan-soto-washington-nationals-two-strike-crouch-robot-umps
His numbers will change really quick if they switch to a robot umpire. Unfortunately the umpire grading really doesnt matter. They dont fire bad umpires
Wisconsin 2-6 against the SEC since 2007
Can't go by TV graphics. CloseCallSports has repeatedly shown on their channel that the TV graphics are wrong.
I feel like I lit a fire under his arse. He was completely lifeless for 3 months and now he is on fire. GO MARINERS.
J Rod
17 hits in his last 4 games just broke a 98 year old record . He and the mariners are heating up
30+ HRs
30+ SBs
100+ RBIs
Only the 3rd player age of 22 or younger to accomplish this.
I'd take him on my team anyday. I do think SB numbers need to be reevaluated in terms of historical numbers though. With the pitch clock, limited pick offs and shortened base paths SB numbers should be sky rocketing.
Wisconsin 2-6 against the SEC since 2007
My negative post woke him up it seems. He was having a dismal season for the 1st half. Let's see if Teoscar, Suarez, Kelenic and company can chip in and get this team into the playoffs. Should be interesting.
The problem is not the offense, the problem is the GM trading our closer away and getting 2 average at best players in return with Rojas a defensive liability, now the Mariners do not have a closer and the bullpen is average. To top it off Manager Scott is too scared to let our very good starting pitching staff throw more then 100 pitcher per game. Seattle plays Texas and Houston to finish the year it will decide the playoffs.
I agree with you 1000%. I think Munoz is one of the worst closers I have ever seen. He was a terrific set up man; but a terrible closer. The pressure is absolutely too much for him. When he won the MLB reliever of the month I thought it was some type of bad joke. They can twist relievers stats to say anything. Heck you can have a 0 ERA and have a bunch of blown saves. And yes Servais has no idea when he should pinch run or pinch hit. I've watched Ford be on 2nd numerous times in crucial situations where he can't score on a hit. France can't hit either.
France can't score from 2nd either on a hit I agree , but he is my favorite player on the team, and I would rather see Topa in the closer roll over Munoz but no one in the bullpen is as good as seawald was.