Mariners History: Appreciating Julio Rodríguez's greatness at 25 years old

At long last, Julio Rodríguez is old enough to rent a car without having to pay extra fees. He turned 25 on Monday, which calls for a celebration worthy of one of the greatest young players the Seattle Mariners have ever had.

This is worth saying precisely because it feels like it isn't said enough. Even among the Seattle fanbase, Julio seems to have found his way into a sort of appreciation no man's land since his initial star turn in 2022. Everyone sees the talent, but the flaws are still there and, to be fair, hard not to notice when they crop up in games.

And yet, there Julio sits as one of the brightest stars in baseball today. Just four years into his career, he's already been an All-Star and top-10 MVP finisher three times, not to mention a Silver Slugger twice. And the closer you look, the more you notice him rubbing elbows with legends.

Appreciating Julio Rodríguez's greatness at 25 years old

Through four seasons, Julio has already racked up 22.9 rWAR as the Mariners' everyday center fielder. Not too shabby for a guy who notoriously takes a long time to heat up in any given season, and it's a mark that only one hitter has surpassed through his first four seasons with the team:

1. Ichiro Suzuki: 26.0
2. Julio Rodríguez: 22.9
3. Ken Griffey Jr.: 21.4
4. Alex Rodriguez: 14.4
5. Kyle Seager: 13.9

Granted, Julio got a later start than Griffey and A-Rod, who both debuted as teenagers. Yet it isn't often that an outfielder is this productive through four seasons before turning 25. In the integration era, the only ones to outperform Julio in this regard are Frank Robinson, Barry Bonds, Mookie Betts and Mike Trout. He's also tied with a guy named Henry Aaron.

The "No Fly Zone" is doing some of the heavy lifting here, as Julio has 10 Defensive Runs Saved to show for his career so far. That figure may even underrate his glovework in center field, with Outs Above Average rating him as the best defensive center fielder in the American League since 2022.

That said, Julio is accomplishing rare feats on the offensive side as well.

He is the only player in MLB history to begin his career with four straight 20-20 seasons. He's also one of only six to rack up at least 110 home runs and 110 stolen bases through 590 games, joining Trout, Ronald Acuña Jr., Darryl Strawberry, Eric Davis and Alfonso Soriano.

For a player who's keeping this kind of company, the only concern for the years to come has to do with whether Julio will get hurt or just plain burn out. Athleticism like his can be as much a curse as a blessing, and it's not like he has a Votto-ian eye for to fall back on if his speed or power abandon him.

For now, though, the Mariners can worry about crossing that bridge if and when it comes. All they need to do for the foreseeable future is to just let Julio do Julio things, which are great things indeed.