"Jrod the real champion" "He may not have won but he was the star! Congrats to Soto" - MLB fans are all praise for Seattle Mariners rookie Julio Rodriguez after an amazing Home Run Derby showcase

Seattle Mariners young star Julio Rodriguez was unfazed under the bright lights in Hollywood. The 21-year-old put on a show in the City of Angels in his first ever All-Star Week event and fans were most certainly impressed.

The Mariners rookie didn't waste any time as he blasted 32 bombs in just the first round. This put him past Texas Rangers' Corey Seager, who made his first trip back to Dodger Stadium after signing with the Rangers.

In what looked like a mountain too tall to climb, he then proceeded to eliminate two-time defending champion Pete Alonso. He smashed 31 home runs in the semi-finals to deny the back-to-back champion a chance for a three-peat.

The rookie went on an unprecedented run and reached the finals. There, he faced compatriot and Nationals superstar Juan Soto. Rodriguez managed to mash 18 homers but was given just a 30-second bonus time for failing to hit a home run over 440 feet.

Soto, on the other hand, started slow but proceeded to hit a homer further than the specified distance to claim the bonus one-minute extension. This was enough for him as he scored 19 home runs in the final round to ultimately clinch the derby.

Rodriguez smashed a total of 81 home runs in his first year of participation in the event. It would be interesting to see if he obliges to join the derby next year when Seattle hosts the All-Star Week festivities.

Seattle Mariners rookie Julio Rodriguez receive plaudits from MLB fans

The fairytale run came up just short for the Seattle Mariners rookie. However, it gave him the chance to show what he's capable of and MLB fans certainly appreciated it.

The sky will be the limit for the young star. His All-Star Week hasn't concluded yet, however, as he has been named to the American League All-Star team. This made him the first Seattle Mariners rookie position player since Ichiro Suzuki in 2001 to be selected to the team.

The rookie has a slash line of .275 and an OPS of .814 with 16 home runs and 52 RBIs for the season. He has also stolen 21 bases this year, the third-best total in the league.

Rodriguez has also bagged two of the three American League Rookie of the Month Awards this year - May and June.

With Rodriguez in tow and the Mariners riding on a 14-game win streak, they have now reached the American League Wildcard spot.

If the Mariners' dominance continues, they might fancy themselves a chance to end the longest playoff drought (19 years) in North American sports history.

About the author

Daniel Santiago is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. He was drawn towards the sport after the underlying statistics and the analysis surrounding it grabbed his attention.

Daniel particularly enjoys furnishing reports about historic events in baseball and analyzing the game through a statistic-based outlook, based on Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. This is in line with how he enjoyed watching baseball as a pastime. As a writer, he is very particular about cross-checking from reputable sources and doing his due diligence.

He became a lifelong Hideki Matsui fan after his exploits in the 2009 World Series for the New York Yankees. Among the current generation, Daniel's favorites include Shohei Ohtani and Jung Hoo Lee. Daniel is a huge follower of Asian baseball and both Ohtani and Lee have been in the top echelon of their respective leagues during their time with the NPB and KBO.

His favorite moment as a baseball fan was the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. He believes there aren't many words to fittingly describe the intensity of the moment.

As an avid sports fan, Daniel watches other sports and Esports when not writing about baseball.

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