Seattle Mariners prospect Julio Rodriguez: Winter League update

PEORIA, AZ - FEBRUARY 20: Julio Rodriguez of the Seattle Mariners poses during the Seattle Mariners Photo Day. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images)
PEORIA, AZ - FEBRUARY 20: Julio Rodriguez of the Seattle Mariners poses during the Seattle Mariners Photo Day. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images) /
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Julio Rodriguez of the Seattle Mariners stands on second base during an intrasquad game.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – JULY 13: Julio Rodriguez #85 of the Seattle Mariners looks on from second base during an intra-squad game. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

Seattle Mariners outfield prospect, Julio Rodriguez, is not playing his best in the Dominican Republic

According to MLB.com, through 13 games, Julio Rodriguez is batting .205. It is not exactly what Seattle Mariners fans want to be seeing from the 15th ranked MLB prospect, but it is too early to criticize him. Rodriguez is just 19-years-old and will turn 20-years-old at the end of the month.

Another reason why Rodriguez might be off to a slow start is because of his injury from early summer. The young top prospect suffered a hairline fracture on his glove hand wrist during summer workouts prior to the start of the 2020 regular season. It took him some time to get back to health and did not play again until the Instructional League in Arizona.

When Julio Rodriguez returned to the field, he showed a lot of promise in Arizona by hitting approximately .250, and he had an impressive average max exit velocity of 104mph. His hardest-hit ball during his time in Arizona was 111.5mph. Although I will say, the pitching in the Instructional League may not be as talented as the pitchers in the Dominican Winter League.

While with the Escogido’s Baseball Club, the Mariners prospect is slugging an unimpressive .227 and .300 on-base percentage. Rodriguez has only hit one extra-base hit, which was a double. He has driven in five runs, walked four times, and stolen three bases.

There are a handful of familiar names leading the league in batting categories such as Texas Rangers first baseman Ronald Guzman, former Seattle Mariners outfielder Carlos Peguero, and Rodriguez’ Escogido’s teammate Wander Franco of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Rodriguez also gave fans a scare about a week and a half ago after being hit by the pitch on his wrist. Luckily it was not his left wrist that he injured earlier this year. We will continue to track Rodriguez’s Dominican Winter League numbers and share them with you all, but do not get too sucked into the numbers.

He is still young, trying to get back in the groove after injury, and scouts around the league have high praise for him. We should just be thankful that he is healthy and on the field at home, in the Dominican Republic.