Breaking news: Talented 23-year-old Star Set to Revive Mariners’ current situation.

Whether the 23-year-old can lead a subpar lineup to the promised land will be determined in the coming season.

For Julio Rodríguez, this is his third year. In the history of Seattle Mariners youth, Loma de Cabrera’s pride is in a class with only Hall of Famers.

All things considered, despite occasional inconsistencies and minor ailments eating away at his playing time, Julio has performed about as well as one could reasonably anticipate from a player younger than third base. Ben Williamson, the second-round (2023) selection of Seattle (talented!).

The issue is in the fact that the Mariners built a club in which the young star’s performance must meet more than just “reasonable expectations.” Despite his underachievement this season, Rodríguez is still on pace to be an above-average regular despite missing several weeks due to an injury that is notorious for persisting. Now that they appear to be nearly fully recovered, Seattle is outside looking in at their chances of making the playoffs. They have been in every game thanks to their outstanding rotation, but they have been let down by a poor offense and a struggling bullpen. It’s well-known ground.

After one game over the Texas Rangers on August 30, 2023, the M’s and the Houston Astros shared first place in the AL West. They had ended a 21-6 August with two different eight-game winning streaks by defeating the Oakland Athletics 5–4. The remarkable month was sparked by a roster-wide inferno; of Seattle’s six losses, two were walk-offs, and the games were decided by only one or two runs. Even better, the Astros were swept in three games in Houston during that span, which was crucial for the Seattle team, which started the month six games behind the division lead but finished with a tie for first place and a tiebreaker versus one of the two Texas heavyweights. Naturally, in that fiery month that rekindled Seattle’s playoff aspirations, one player stood out above the others: Julio. With record-breaking hit speeds and incredible skill, Julio performed solo at times and with greater authority at others. a 234 wRC+, slugging.429/.474/.724, the best month of any hitter in Mariners history. Unfathomable month that’s probably not going to happen again.

It was logical to assume that the Mariners, who were leading the AL West by ten games, could hold serve and easily make it to the postseason, winning their first division title since 2001. Rather, Seattle has lost the appearance of being inevitable, much like the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central who saw their nine-game lead vanish into a dead heat with the Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins chasing them. As for Seattle, even plausibility is working against them; FanGraphs has their playoff odds at a meager 16.4%, while PECOTA at Baseball Prospectus predicts only 11.4%. While it’s unrealistic to expect Julio to produce at the same level as he did a year ago, it’s also unrealistic to have unrealistic expectations for Julio right now because the organization’s plans depend on his superstar status and they don’t have a safety net in place.

But Julio is capable. Maybe expecting it is wishful thinking, but he is capable of it. For the guy whose work ethic turned him from a corner slugger to a renowned center fielder, little on a baseball field is the difference between a hopeful thought and a drought-ending reality. Not only have Julio’s mechanics been a work in progress this season, but they have been throughout his career. Though there has always been hope for Rodriguez to turn the wheel, there is still cause for optimism given his recent work with hitting instructor Edgar Martinez.

For a team devoid of steady performance beyond Cal Raleigh, Randy Arozarena and Victor Robles have been a godsend. With J.P. Crawford back and healthy, Seattle is the best they can hope for in their last month. However, Julio has the widest range of possibilities between his current stats and his potential of any player in the roster. Seattle will already need to do something very special to pull off a September surge. A meteoric stretch will emerge from their shooting star if one is to occur.