Seattle Mariners star Julio Rodríguez has accomplished so much in such a short amount of time. As a rookie in 2022, the young phenom was named an All-Star and later won the American League Rookie of the Year. He was also honored with a Silver Slugger Award and received All-MLB Second Team honors. Not much has eluded the young Rodríguez, though he would like to have a Home Run Derby win to add to his mantle.
Rodríguez participated in last year’s Home Run Derby and placed second behind Juan Soto, despite hitting 81 home runs across three rounds. With this year’s All-Star festivities in Seattle, Rodríguez is set to compete in the event for the second consecutive season, as he revealed on Friday that he will participate in the 2023 Home Run Derby.
In doing so, Rodríguez is the first confirmed participant.
July 10th. See you in Seattle 🤟🏽⚡️ pic.twitter.com/MQOOkCtXGP
— Julio Rodriguez🇩🇴🦁 (@JRODshow44) June 23, 2023
Unless there is a drastic change in fan votes, Rodríguez is not a surefire All-Star selection, despite this year’s game being held in Seattle. Earlier this week, MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer pointed out that Rodríguez was 11th in All-Star voting among all eligible outfielders. Only the top six outfielders advance to the second phase of voting, so Rodríguez is an odd man out here.
All-Star voting update…
• C Cal Raleigh: 8th place
• 1B Ty France: 5th
• 2B José Caballero: 6th
• 3B Eugenio Suárez: 8th
• SS J.P. Crawford: 6th
• OF Julio Rodríguez: 11th
• OF Jarred Kelenic: 16th
• OF Teoscar Hernández: 20thTop 2 INF, Top 6 OF advance to 2nd phase
— Daniel Kramer (@DKramer_) June 20, 2023
Rodríguez ensured that the Mariners will be represented for this year’s Home Run Derby at T-Mobile Park.
Fans took notice of Rodríguez’s announcement and certainly appeared eager to see how well he can do in the highly anticipated competition.
This is a perfect start! Excited to see who's next to commit to this year's HR Derby! 💪🏼 https://t.co/XpPg4dAys5
— Zack Raab (@ZackRaab) June 23, 2023
Watching him last year was electric in Dodger Stadium… I thought forsure he would earn his spot in the home run derby this year but looks like he's having a down year compared to last year. Still excited to see him perform! https://t.co/SyZtZPTE7k
— ∞ The Infinite Dodger ∞ (@InfiniteDodger) June 23, 2023
Such a 90’s vibe for the M’s…
“What’s Seattle record? Eh, not good enough, but Griffey/Julio is participating in the Home Run Derby!”
I’ll here for it though! https://t.co/iDnHipWkYF
— Jay Tust (@KTVBSportsGuy) June 23, 2023
Julio will hit one out of T-Mobile July 10th https://t.co/SOPN273ATV
— Dan (@DanJonCon) June 23, 2023
i love that he embraces the home run derby it’s so fun https://t.co/4L1gV5XZx4
— Brian Floyd (@BrianMFloyd) June 23, 2023
Julio back in the Home Run Derby!!! https://t.co/mcrJ23Pffn
— Mariner Muse (@MarinerMuse) June 23, 2023
Julio wasn’t going to miss out on baseball’s big party https://t.co/VhiYhYnTGd
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) June 23, 2023
While Rodríguez hit 28 home runs during his rookie season, he is largely seen as more of a complete hitter rather than simply a true home run threat. That being said, he is one of the best hitters in the American League, so he could surely do some serious damage when he does compete in this year’s Home Run Derby.
