Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez celebrates after a win against the Minnesota Twins on June 14 at Target Field. Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Seattle Mariners Superstar Julio Rodriguez Makes Modern Team History with Defense

Originally posted on Seattle Mariners on SI
By Teren Kowatsch | Last updated Jul 15, 2025 10:45 AM ET

Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez won't be at the All-Star Game on Tuesday after withdrawing from the event. As a result, fans watching the Midsummer Classic won't get to see his trademark speed and defense, but Rodriguez showed it off in the Mariners' last series before the All-Star Break.

Rodriguez had a solid offensive series for Seattle against the Detroit Tigers over the weekend, hitting three home runs in as many games, but a throw he made in the series finale was the latest in a series of impressive plays for the three-time All-Star.

In the Mariners' 8-4 win against the Tigers on Sunday, Rodriguez had an outfield assist that registered at 96.5 mph. According to a post on "X" from Sarah Langs (SlangsOnSports), that throw was tied for the third-fastest outfield assist for the Mariners of the Statcast era (2015-present).

Mariners’ fastest-tracked OF assists under Statcast (2015):

7/8/22 Julio Rodriguez: 99.6 mph
7/19/16 Leonys Martin: 97.7 mph
7/13/25 Julio Rodriguez: 96.5 mph
5/31/25 Julio Rodriguez: 96.5 mph
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) July 13, 2025

According to the same tweet, Rodriguez also owns the fastest and fourth-fastest outfield assists in the last decade. He had a throw that registered at 99.6 mph on July 8, 2022, and another that clocked in at 96.5 mph against the Minnesota Twins on May 31 this season.

Julio Rodríguez, what an f'ing throw. Huge first out at the plate on a Kody Clemens single, that throw was 96.5 mph pic.twitter.com/vhyEWkdpFt
— Josh Kirshenbaum (@J_Kirshenbaum) June 1, 2025

Rodriguez is one of the best defensive outfielders in baseball this season. He has a 1.4 dWAR (defensive Wins Above Replacement) this season, according to Baseball Reference, which ranks eighth in baseball. He has eight outs above average (OAA), which ranks in the 97th percentile of baseball, according to Baseball Savant. He's tied for 15th in baseball in Defensive Runs Saved with 10, per the Fielding Bible.

This article first appeared on Seattle Mariners on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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