Julio Rodriguez Ends Sophomore Slump with Historic Stretch

In June, I cautioned Mariners fans about overreacting to Julio Rodriguez's slow start to the season. That didn't work out entirely in my favor, as he proceeded to have a .621 OPS that month. However, Rodriguez's July was much better, and his August has been entirely out of this world.

The star center fielder is slashing .425/.459/.675/1.134 in what has been by far his best month of the season, comparable to his electric finish to last year's campaign. His production in August has been powered by his last four-game stretch, where he has gone 17-22 with 2 home runs and 5 stolen bases. In doing so, Rodriguez broke Milt Stock's 1925 record for the most hits in a four-game span. He also tied Stock's record of four straight four-hit games and became the only player since 1900 to get 14 hits and steal five bases in a four-game span, per ESPN.

Julio Rodriguez 4 days ago compared to now

Avg: .256 ➡️ .278
OBP: .319 ➡️ .337
SLG: .432 ➡️ .463
OPS: .751 ➡️ .800
wRC+: 111 ➡️ 125
fWar: 3.7 ➡️ 4.8

That’s one of the most insane 4 game jumps I’ve ever seen lmao pic.twitter.com/l77YwLqdnJ

— Addison (@YankeeWRLD) August 20, 2023

In just four games, Rodriguez has increased his numbers dramatically, showcasing the immense talent we all knew he could unleash. His dominance at the plate has coincided with four straight Seattle victories, pushing the Mariners into the last American League Wild Card position. If Rodriguez can continue to hit at a level similar to the one he ended last year at, Seattle's offense will have a great chance to power them into a playoff position for the second year in a row.

If any Julio Rodriguez doubters still remained, they have now been silenced. Rodriguez is a superstar player at a premium position, and worth every penny promised to him by the organization. He is turning it on when it counts, and, to make it even better, he has been outplaying the Yankees by himself.