Median player comp for Seattle Mariners Julio Rodriguez: Jermaine Dye
I was torn here in trying to figure out who to compare Julio to for his median player comp. There were a handful of guys with some former Mariners falling into this pile of comparable players. With Julio’s strong arm and a power bat, I could’ve gone with either Jay Buhner or Jose Guillen.
Neither of them quite fit what I wanted though. Neither of them started making an impact till later in their careers and in turn, didn’t have the length of career I was looking for. Plus, why not go with someone who didn’t play for the Mariners.
That’s why the median player comp for Julio is Jermaine Dye. He didn’t come up as early as Julio is going to (or Young, for that matter), but he did make his debut at 22, finishing 6th in Rookie of the Year voting. With 12 homers in half a season and a .281 average, you could see the potential for a great hitter.
It would take a couple of seasons for Dye to come into his own after a disappointing stretch in his second and third years. Then, from 1999 to 2008, Dye would hit at least 25 home runs in nine of his ten seasons. His greatest season came at age 32 with the White Sox when he would make his second All-Star game, win his first Silver Slugger, and finish fifth in MVP voting. They were all worthy accomplishments from his line of .315/.385/.622 with 44 home runs, 120 RBI, and 103 runs scored.
If Julio ends up with a career like Dye we should be happy as Mariners fans. 325 home runs, a career .274/.338/.488 slash line and a couple of All-Star appearances. With the way baseball has changed since Dye played, if Julio can provide those numbers, he is likely going to make 5-6 All-Star games instead of the two that Dye made.