Julio Rodríguez could finally be coming to the Mariners’ rescue

Known for his slow starts, Julio Rodríguez is finally heating up. And while it might be coming later than the Mariners would have liked, they'll take it.

At this point in the year, Seattle needs all the help it can get. With no clear sign of Cal Raleigh finding his form and several other power bats failing to consistently produce, Seattle needs someone at the heart of the lineup to step up, and who better to come through than J-Rod?

A slow start is nothing new for Rodríguez. In fact, it has almost become part of his game plan. Historically, he has been a player who takes time to find his rhythm at the plate before ramping things up later in the season.

This year, his process was interrupted by a concussion suffered on July 2 against the Los Angeles Angels that put him on the seven-day IL. Upon his return, Rodríguez immediately made an impact. On July 18, he delivered a walk-off sac fly in the 10th inning against the San Fransisco Giants, giving the Mariners a 4-3 victory at T-Mobile Park.

Could Julio Rodríguez save the Mariners season?

There was a bit of a lull after that, but something appears to have clicked for Rodríguez in August, just as it often does.

So far this month he is hitting .938 OPS with three home runs. Even more encouraging is that according to Baseball Savant, his expected numbers have improved as well, suggesting that his recent production may not be temporary. He's currently on a five-game hit streak dating back to last week in New York.

Before his concussion, Rodríguez was hitting .259 with 14 home runs, 40 RBIs and 12 stolen bases over 87 games played. Not bad, but not the Julio that Seattle knows and loves. Now, he is batting .308 with three home runs, six RBIs and two stolen bases over his last 14 games played, with much of that improvement coming from his August performance.

Julio Rodríguez knows how to make a late-season surge

If he continues on this track, his bat could be important for consistency during the final stretch of the season. Fortunately, there is reason to believe this surge could be more than a temporary hot streak. Rodríguez has a track record for turning it on late in the year.

In August 2023, he went on an explosive stretch that saw him with a 1.198 OPS with seven home runs and 30 RBIs for that month alone. Mariners fans saw a glimpse of that J-Rod again last season after July 11, where he hit .944 OPS, 7 homers, and 22 RBIs. If there's anything to take away from this, it's that the late-summer months are Julio's time to shine.

While it's too early to know if Rodríguez can replicate his past stretches, the timing does give Seattle some hope. With Raleigh and the rest of the lineup seemingly unlikely to provide the offensive spark the M's need, it might be time for J-Rod to make a difference the way he has before. If past seasons are any indication, he just might be ready to come through at the plate and save whats left of the Mariners season.

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