Seattle Mariners: Julio Rodriguez joins historic group

Julio Rodriguez has played just 120 major league games, but the Seattle Mariners’ outfielder has already joined an impressive list.

Although Rodriguez is just 21 years old and in his first season, he has already posted a 5.0 bWAR year. As noted by Alex Mayer, only four other centerfielders have done so at age 21 or younger – Tris Speaker, Mickey Mantle, Ken Griffey Jr., and Mike Trout.

Seattle Mariners star Julio Rodriguez has impressive company

No pressure or anything for the rest of his career, right? Speaker, Mantle, and Griffey are not just Hall of Fame players – they are all members of the inner circle. Trout is well on his way to that stature as well.

And Rodriguez? Well, he has those 120 games heading into Thursday. They have been impressive as he has posted a stellar 134 OPS+ with 23 homers and 22 doubles in his 514 plate appearances, stealing 24 bases. He became the 12th player in MLB history to post a 20-20 season as a rookie, joining a fairly eclectic list that also includes Trout.

The Mariners are certainly hoping that will be the case. They already handed Rodriguez an extension that could last for up to 20 years and be worth more than $450 million if everything goes according to plan. If that ends up being the case, he very well could join that quartet at some point in the future.

There was already going to be a great deal of pressure on Rodriguez to develop into a star. His large contract and the expectation that he will be a cornerstone player for a franchise starved for success has put him squarely in the spotlight. And now, he has an impressive list of players to live up to.

Julio Rodriguez has begun to emerge as a star for the Seattle Mariners. His rookie campaign continues to be a historic one.