They say game recognizes game and Seattle Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez’ historic play over the past two seasons has drawn comparisons to another Mariners great, 2016 Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr.
“The Kid” took notice of J-Rod’s talent early last season and has placed the August AL Player of the month under his wing.
“He’s always open to talk about everything,” Rodríguez said. “It’s really cool to have him around. I know a lot of people are always trying to compare us and say, ‘Who’s going to be better?’ But I feel like [we both] have [our] own time and I’m really grateful that I have someone in my corner to mentor me and tell me the things that I should expect along the way. It’s really cool having his help. He’s definitely one of the greatest players ever to play the game.”
While the similarities are there: Gold Glove caliber defense, elite power, youthful exuberance and effortless swagger, it seems unfair to both parties to forecast whether Rodriguez will match or surpass his mentor’s career.
However, at this point, it does seem that J-Rod is destined for greatness, and soaking up game from Junior can’t hurt one bit.
The Seattle Mariners were floundering early in the season and fell as far as 10 games out of first place on July 1st. Then the team flipped a switch and recaptured the magic that helped them break a long playoff drought in 2022 leading to optimism for this season.
The M’s (79-61) are now embroiled in a heated three team battle with fellow AL West foes – The Houston Astros and Texas Rangers.
Since July 1st, The Mariners are a scorching 41-19 (.683) in their last 60 games. They are now currently sitting a ½ game out of first place, and alone in the second AL Wild Card spot. No team has performed better over that span.
Seattle Transformation Led By Julio Rodriguez
Seattle’s remarkable turnaround runs concurrent with the resurgence of 22-year-old phenom Julio Rodriguez, who has shaken off an early sophomore jinx to put together another historical speed/power season.
The two-time All-Star is hitting .337 with 82 hits, 14 home runs, 51 RBIs and 39 runs scored since July 1st. He’s now batting .282, with 27 home runs and 93 RBIs.
His 5.3 War ranks eleventh best in MLB as of September 8. Just two weeks ago, Rodriguez became the fastest Mariner to smash 50 home runs, reaching the total in just 256 games. On September 5th in Cincinnati, he became the first player in MLB history to have 25 home runs and 25 steals in each of his first two seasons.
The Seattle Mariners have been one of the hottest teams in all of baseball for the last few weeks. Seattle is putting themselves in a good position to make the postseason for the second consecutive season.
J.P. Crawford knows what’s at stake and he understands that every game is critical. Crawford is a leader on this Mariners team and is also a competitor and wants to put his team in a position to win games.
The Mariners certainly have been winning.
Coming into Tuesday, Seattle has a four-game winning streak and have won 12 of their last 13 games.
JP Crawford Having a Career Season
And Crawford has been holding his own at the plate. In a 7-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Monday, Crawford went 2-for-4 at the plate with a home run. He also hit a home run on August 25 against the Kansas CIty Royals. Crawford finished that game with three hits.
His home run against Oakland was his 12th of the season, which is currently a career-high for the shortstop.
Through 114 games, he’s hitting .268 with 42 RBI to go along with those 12 home runs. It’s the first time in his seven-year career that he has reached the double-digit homer plateau. He’s showing why he’s one of the best in the game. Each year, Crawford continues to improve and he’s a player who takes full advantage of the offseason to work on his game.
At the leadoff position, Crawford has answered the call time after time for Seattle, setting the tone for the offense.
A few days ago, Crawford made it clear that the Mariners had their sights on winning the division and not settling for a wild card appearance.
“Like Jay Buhner once said, forget the Wild Card, man. We’re going for the division but we still have a lot of games to go. We gotta keep the way we are playing now, keep focused and take it one day at a time,” he said in a post game interview per Shannon Drayer.
There’s no question that Seattle has the team that is capable of winning the division and making a deep run in the playoffs.
Could this be the year that it happens for the Mariners? Seattle has never made an appearance in the World Series, and they have only made five postseason appearances in franchise history.
Having a leader on the team like Crawford certainly pays off because he is a respectable guy and he gets the job done, whether out in the field or at the plate. And one thing that Crawford will do is motivate his teammates and let his performance on the field show that he means business.
This Seattle team can be very dangerous come playoff time, and with MLBbro veteran Crawford continuing to play at a high level, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Mariners still swinging lumber in October.
In just 36 games and 53 plate appearances this season he has an on base percentage of .237 and a batting average of .170 with four stolen bases, two caught stealings and four RBI.
“(Bubba) Thompson still needs to learn his swing,” said Rangers third base coach Tony Beasley.
“He needs to be playing everyday. He was not ready for the role we needed him in up here. Once he finds his swing, the sky’s the limit.”
Thompson was a first round pick for Texas in the 2017 MLB Draft out of high school.
In 2022 he broke the teams’s Triple-A affiliates’ record for stolen bases in a year with 49 to go along with 13 home runs, 48 RBI and a .304 batting average.Thompson made his debut for the Rangers in August of 2022 finishing with a .265 average, 18 stolen bases in 21 attempts and nine RBI.
He made the Opening Day Roster in 2023, but could not outplay the multiple veterans in the Rangers outfield, thus causing him to mainly be a late inning defensive replacement and pinch runner.
Now that Thompson will be getting constant playing time, he will have a chance to catch a rhythm at the plate and help the Big League club soon down the road.
Taylor Trammell
The Mariners sent Trammell down to Triple-A Tacoma after a rough month of May at the plate.
During the month, he hit .122 with a .265 on base percentage and two home runs in 20 games.
Trammell, who was originally drafted by the Reds, was traded to the Padres in 2019 before being moved again to Seattle.
From 2016-2018 while in the Reds organization he stole 90 bases and hit 23 home runs.
Since debuting in 2021, Trammell has only stolen four bases in his career. He will need to revive that threat of speed and average if wants to find his way back to the Bigs whether that be in Seattle or elsewhere.
Known for his Gold Glove, JP Crawford‘s offensive contributions have helped the Seattle Mariners, who are 7-3 in their last 10 games, back into AL West contention.
Harry Ford Jr. gives great hope to the future and legacy of MLBbro catchers. He’s another in a long line of talented Black prospects that the Seattle Mariners organization has drafted over the years. The Mariners are coming off a 90-72 season which saw them make the playoffs for the first time since 2001.
It was just their fifth postseason appearance in franchise history (47 seasons), with the bulk of those appearances coming in the mid-to-late 1990s during Ken Griffey Jr. and Randy “Big Unit” Johnson’s tenure. Last season’s ALDS loss wasn’t a total surprise as they did lose to the eventual World Series champion Houston Astros. In the end, it was a feeling these new-look Mariners hope to continue to have come late September and early October during the MLB season.
Harry Ford Joins Julio Rodriguez As Another Future Cornerstone Piece
Led by 22-year-old slugger Julio Rodriguez and MLBbro Gold Glove shortstop JP Crawford, the “Emerald City” believes they’re here to stay, and baseball is once again a joy to watch. While Rodriguez signals the right now, first-round pick Harry Ford symbolizes the future. Very soon, their destinies will merge and together they will help lead the franchise.
Ford, the Mariners’ No.1 ranked prospect is only 20, but the team believes he’ll be ready for a call-up in 2025. That’s pretty amazing considering he’s just two years removed from playing high school games.
Ford Has Shined At High-A Everett
Ford shined in his minor league season-opener, going 3-5 with three singles and two RBI in a come-from-behind extra innings 4-3 win. Most impressive was Ford’s ability to hit the baseball to all parts of the field. He also threw out a base runner showing his fielding prowess and strong arm.
— Mariners Player Development (@MsPlayerDev) April 8, 2023
Ford’s play caught the attention of Mariners’ director of player development Justin Toole, who told reporters this about the franchise’s top prospect.
“Harry’s athleticism was on full display, and you saw a little bit of everything he can do.”
This season Ford has a current slash line of .265/.446/.475 with three home runs 12 RBI and five stolen bases in 17 games. The No.46 prospect in MLB’s Pipeline hit 11 dingers with 65 RBI and also had thefts last season for Low-A Fresno, routinely flashing his power and elite base stealing prowess.
Ford Was Bro Bombing In WBC
While Great Britain didn’t make the WBC, it wasn’t for lack of effort by Ford, who bashed three homers and drove in eight runs during the qualifying rounds. His display of power and plate presence threw fear into opposing pitchers from all over the world.
In 2021, @Mariners drafted #MLBbro Harry Ford with the 12th overall pick of the MLB amateur draft. Ford is a hard-hitting catcher whose skill set has been likened to that of former Houston Astros legend and Baseball Hall of Famer, Craig Biggio.
That and his opening night performance drew more praise from Toole.
“There’s a lot to like about him as a player and a person,” Toole said. “And it was good to see all the work he’s been putting in show up on Opening Night. Really happy for him to get off to that kind of start.”
Ford has continued to play well, and it shouldn’t be long before he’s off to Double-A ball as the team ramps up his preparation to join the Mariners in early 2025, maybe even for Opening Day.
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