Mariners think they have answer for Julio Rodríguez's early 2024 struggles

Julio Rodriguez has always been a slow starter. He has a career .740 OPS in the first half of the season, and things are typically at their worst in March/April where he has managed just a .642 OPS over his first three MLB seasons.

Despite these initial challenges, he has never had a season less than 4.0 rWAR and still has a career OPS+ of 130, largely due to maintaining a .903 OPS in the second half. It's bittersweet because, despite providing so much value to the team, he could be providing even more if he could just warmed up a little sooner.

It seems there might be a fix in place, however. Heading into his fourth season as a Mariner, the front office might have found a potential solution to this problem.

While many have assumed Rodriguez's ramp-up time is a result of a poor work ethic, the front office does not agree. In a recent interview with Buster Olney, Jerry Dipoto provided more insight, stating that "nobody works harder than Julio." Instead, Dipoto believes the solution is simple: give him more at-bats in spring training.

Mariners' Julio Rodriguez could fix problems with slow start in spring training

It seems like an oversimplified answer to a larger problem, but there's merit to it. Over the years, teams have limited their major-league starters to fewer than 50 total plate appearances in spring training, reducing risk of injury and giving more experience to their younger prospects. However, seeing live pitching is one of the most important aspects of preparation and could be what Rodriguez has been missing all along. He has always managed to work his way to a scorching month around the All-Star break and doesn't seem to alter his approach, swing, or preparation much.

His career numbers lend further credence to Dipoto's proposed strategy. Without seeing live pitching, hitters tend to struggle with two things: movement and high velocity. Throughout his career, Rodriguez has posted a .647 OPS against pitches 96+ MPH pre-ASB while posting a much better 1.025 OPS against pitches of the same velocity post-ASB. Similarly, his career OPS against breaking balls jumps from .672 in the first half to .867 in the second half.

Another positive indicator heading into 2025 is how much he enjoyed working more closely with Edgar Martinez. In an interview with Daniel Kramer, Rodriguez cited Edgar's approach as a major reason behind the team's strong 21-13 finish after he joined as a temporary hitting coach.

In addition to actively working on the development of its current core of stars, the Mariners are still active in free agency and are the subject of many rumors surrounding Pete Alonso's next destination. If not at first base, there are other positions in the lineup that could use some offensive help and, with the right combination of new bats and improvements to existing ones, the Mariners could be in for an exciting 2025.