Julio Rodríguez named as finalist for 2023 Hank Aaron award
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – While his sophomore campaign didn’t start or end the way that Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodríguez wanted it to, there’s still the potential for hardware to be earned. Rodríguez was named as a finalist for the Hank Aaron award, which is awarded annually to the best overall offensive performer in both leagues. The winners of the award will be decided by a panel of Hall of Famers, combined with a fan vote. While the 2023 season didn’t start out spectacular for Rodríguez, as mentioned, his second half surge helped to put the Mariners in excellent position for a division title at the end of the month of August. His second half was historic in multiple ways, as his read hot pace earned league notice and even may garner him some MVP votes in the American League. Seattle native and current Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll is also up for the award, in the National League.
Seattle Mariners centerfielder Julio Rodríguez swings in the July 14th, 2023 game against the Detroit Tigers (Photo by Sage Zipeto)
Where Julio’s numbers ranked from this past season
Julio didn’t have the best start to his year, seemingly struggling with an early sophomore slump, and unfortunately had a rough September that cooled off his fiery start to the second half. Those two aspects of his year knock his numbers down from excellent down to just great and should give Mariners fans more hope as he continues to improve and grow in his young career. It’s impressive to see where Julio’s numbers ended up in the basic stats on the season, including the fact that he wasn’t far off from being the American League hit king had it not been for that poor end of the season stretch where Texas Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien was able to cruise by and take that title back after holding it for much of the season. Rodríguez will need to improve upon his strikeout issues as he ranked in the top 15 of the American League in strikeouts (Tied for 8th). The underlying numbers continue to look good, as his batting and baserunning values were both higher than the 90th percentile (91st and 96th, to be exact) while his hard-hit percentage and exit velocity were both in the 95th percentile.
Batting average: 12th in the American League (.275)
On base percentage: 22nd in the American League (.333)
Slugging percentage: 14th in the American League (.485)
On base plus slugging: 12th in the American League (.818)
Runs batted in: 3rd in the American League (103)
Hits: 2nd in the American League (180)
Runs: Tied for 4th in the American League (102)
Doubles: Tied for 6th in the American League: (37)
Home runs: 7th in the American League (32)
Extra base hits: Tied for 5th in the American League: (71)
Stolen bases: 3rd in the American League (37)
Batting average on balls in play: 9th in the American League (.330)
Seattle Mariners centerfielder Julio Rodríguez runs to first base in the August 1st, 2023 game against the Boston Red Sox (Photo by Sage Zipeto)
Room to grow means further improvement for Julio heading into year three
His rough start, chasing on off-speed pitches out of the zone, and poor end to the season show more areas where Julio can grow. Yes, it was frustrating to see your superstar start the season off poorly and fail to come up big on numerous occasions of big moments, but the season is over now and the best way to look at it going forward is that he is going to get better. Rodríguez is one of the proven players on the current Seattle rosters that care about winning and getting better the most, a testament to that being his unwillingness to delve deeper into his first 30-30 season because the Mariners lost the game where he reached the milestone. He’s going to take the offseason to note where he can get better and improve upon those areas. His power and speed are obviously things that can’t be taught and are invaluable, but his eye at the plate and decision making can still improve, and that’s a good thing. For Julio to be listed as a finalist for this award is another example of just how good he is and can be, considering that he didn’t necessarily have a complete season in terms of production but he still put up respectable numbers.
Seattle Mariners centerfielder Julio Rodríguez raises the teams home run trident high, earning his first career 30-30 season, in the teams September 11th, 2023 game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Photo by Sage Zipeto)
What other awards could Julio be considered for this offseason?
While the other MLB awards won’t be announced till November, well after the World Series has passed, Rodríguez certainly will be in the conversation for a few of them. Expect to see Julio’s name involved in hardware such as Gold Glove for centerfield, Silver Slugger for centerfield, and he may get a few votes for the MVP award in the American League as well given how strong his second half push was and how vital it was to the Mariners having their historic month of August that had them in sole possession of first place in the American League West by the end of that month. Julio won’t be winning the MVP award, at least it would be one of the biggest surprises in the world to see him get the nod over Angels (At least currently with the Angels) international superstar Shohei Ohtani, but he should have a strong case for both other awards.