Julio Rodríguez

Julio Yarnel Rodríguez Jr. (born December 29, 2000), nicknamed "J-Rod", is a Dominican professional baseball center fielder for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He signed with the Mariners as an international free agent in 2017 and made his MLB debut in 2022. In his rookie season, he was named an All-Star along with winning the Silver Slugger Award and American League Rookie of the Year Award.

Early life
Rodriguez was born in Loma de Cabrera, a town of roughly 20,000 people, in the Dominican Republic. He was raised in Loma de Cabrera with his three siblings. His father was an agricultural engineer and his mother was a dentist. At ten years old, he began competing in a local baseball league with children three to four years older than him. His father began coaching him at twelve years old, training him to play catcher because of his build. When he had a growth spurt the following year, he moved to the outfield. He first caught the attention of scouts when, at only twelve years old, he hit a ball to the wall against a hard-throwing seventeen-year-old pitcher in a local tournament.

Minor leagues
Rodríguez signed with the Seattle Mariners at 16 years of age as an international free agent in July 2017 for a bonus of $1.75 million. He made his professional debut with the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League Mariners in 2018, playing primarily right field and batting .315/.404/.525 (7th in the league) with 50 runs, nine triples (tied for the league lead), five home runs, 36 RBI, and 10 stolen bases without being caught in 219 at-bats over 59 games. He was over three years younger than the average player in both leagues. He was named both a DSL mid-season All-Star and a Baseball America DSL All-Star.

Rodríguez started 2019 with the Class A West Virginia Power in the South Atlantic League. He missed part of the season with a fractured left hand. He was promoted to the Class A-Advanced Modesto Nuts in the California League in August, becoming one of only three 18-year-olds in all of minor league baseball to play High-A ball in 2019. Over 328 at-bats in 84 games between the two teams playing right field and center field, he slashed .326/.390/.540 with 63 runs, 26 doubles, 12 home runs and 69 RBI, and was 10th in the South Atlantic League with a .490 slugging percentage. He was named a California League Player of the Week on September 2, and an MiLB Organization All Star. In September 2019, he was the Mariners' No. 2 prospect, and the No. 25 prospect in baseball.

Rodríguez played in the Arizona Fall League for the Peoria Javelinas following the regular season, at 18 the youngest player in the AFL, and batted .288/.397/.365 in 52 at-bats. He was named an AFL Rising Star.

In May 2021, Rodriguez started to play with the Everett AquaSox. After a few months, he was promoted to the Double-A Arkansas Travelers. Rodríguez was selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game. In August 2021, he was ranked No. 1 on the Mariners prospect list and No. 2 on the MLB top 100 prospect list. The Mariners added him to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft after the 2021 season.

2022 season: AL Rookie of the Year
Rodríguez made his major league debut on Opening Day, April 8, 2022, as the starting center fielder versus the Minnesota Twins. After starting the season 1-for-21 with 12 strikeouts, Rodríguez took off. On May 1, Rodríguez hit his first career home run, a three-run shot off of Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcántara. He was named American League (AL) Rookie of the Month consecutively for May and June 2022. In June, he played 29 games, scored 22 runs, and hit .280/.361/.542 with seven home runs, 16 RBI, and five stolen bases. Rodríguez kept up his great performance in July, during a stretch in which the Mariners won 14 consecutive games and jumped into playoff discussions. On July 15, he hit his first career grand slam to put a game against the Texas Rangers out of reach. In July, he played 19 games, scored 12 runs, and hit .267/.337/.547 with five home runs, 18 RBI, and two stolen bases. He however did not win Rookie of the Month in July with the award going to Jose Miranda who put up superior numbers.

Rodríguez was selected to the 2022 MLB All-Star Game roster, making him the sixth Mariner rookie to do so. Rodríguez also participated in the Home Run Derby, where he hit 81 home runs across three rounds, and placed second behind Juan Soto. During a game on August 23 against the Washington Nationals, Rodríguez hit his 20th home run of the 2022 season, making him the sixth player in Seattle Mariners history to join the 20–20 club, and the fourth player in MLB history to do so in their first MLB season. On September 14, he became the first player to join the 25–25 club in his debut season. On August 26, Rodríguez signed a 14-year contract extension worth up to $400 million with the Mariners.

In 2022, Rodríguez batted .284/.345/.509 (8th in the AL) with 84 runs, 28 home runs, 75 RBI, 25 steals (fifth), and 140 strikeouts in 511 at-bats, with a 26.4 power-speed number (second), while leading the AL outfielders in both range factor/9 innings (2.88) and errors (6). At 21 years of age, he was the youngest qualified batter in major league baseball. Rodríguez won the Silver Slugger Award and the AL Rookie of the Year Award.

2023 season
On April 7, 2023, Rodríguez hit a tiebreaking two-run home run in the sixth inning against the Cleveland Guardians. With this home run, Rodríguez became the fastest player in Mariners history to 30 home runs, doing so in 140 games. On July 10, Rodríguez hit 41 homers in the first round of the Home Run Derby against Pete Alonso, breaking the Derby record for most home runs in a single round.

In August, Rodríguez went on a tear at the plate that equaled or surpassed marks not achieved since the early 20th century. From August 16 to 19, Rodríguez broke the MLB record for most hits in a four-game span with 17, the most since at least 1901. During those four games, Rodríguez went 17-for-22, hit 2 home runs, recorded 8 runs-batted-in, and stole 5 bags. He had 28 hits in 10 games, a number not reached since Kenny Lofton in 1997, and during that stretch had 5 four-hit games, not recorded as having happened since 1900. Further, he had a total of 5 four-hit games during the month; only Ty Cobb, with 6 in 1921, had more.

In early September, he became the first player in MLB history to record 25 home runs and 25 steals in his first two seasons. On September 11, 2023, Rodríguez hit his 30th home run of the season, making him the 44th player to join MLB's 30–30 club.

In 2023, Rodríguez batted .275/.333/.485 with 32 home runs and 37 stolen bases and led the AL in infield hits (29). He won his second consecutive Silver Slugger Award while also being a finalist for the AL Gold Glove Award in center field. He finished fourth place in the AL Most Valuable Player voting.

Personal life
Rodríguez claims to be motivated by anime. In his childhood, he would run home from school to watch Naruto. As a rookie, Rodríguez wore a chain featuring title character Naruto Uzumaki on the reverse as a reminder to "always see the bright side of things" and "never give up."

Rodríguez began dating Canadian professional soccer player Jordyn Huitema in November 2022.

In January 2023, Rodríguez donated an ambulance to his hometown's civil defense headquarters. Prior to his donation, the town did not have an ambulance for emergencies. He also gifted baseball equipment and toys to the children in his hometown.

Awards and accolades

 * Players Choice Award for AL Outstanding Rookie (2022)
 * 2× Silver Slugger Award (AL Outfielder, 2022–23)
 * Rookie of the Year Award (AL Outfielder, 2022)
 * All-MLB Second Team (AL Outfielder, 2022)