No baseball is safe when Julio Rodríguez is roaming center field for the Seattle Mariners, not even ones that come off the bat of MLB’s best hitter.
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New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge clubbed a hanging slider from M’s starter Bryan Woo out to left-center field for what appeared to be an extra-base hit off the bat in the first inning of Tuesday’s game. But Rodríguez tracked it down deep in the gap, making a sliding grab going back to his right at the warning track for yet another web gem on a long list from standout center fielder.
According to Statcast, Judge’s well-struck ball came off the bat at 100.2 mph and had an expected batting average of .510. That last number may have been a little lower if the variable of Rodríguez manning center was taken into account.
Rodríguez is off to another strong start defensively this year. He entered Tuesday tied for fourth among center fielders with plus-five outs above average, which ranks in the 96th percentile of all fielders. He’s also been a bit better at the plate early on than in year’s past. The 24 year old is hitting .228 with a .724 OPS, seven home runs and a 113 wRC+ (100 is league average).
As for who Rodríguez robbed of extra bases, Judge has been on another planet this season when it comes to hitting. New York’s right fielder’s entered the game batting a league-best .411 while sharing the MLB lead with 14 home runs.
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