Julio's All-MLB nod caps marvelous rookie season

SAN DIEGO -- The offseason accolades continue to pile up for Julio Rodríguez, who on Monday was selected to the All-MLB Second Team among outfielders.

Unlike the Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Awards, which are awarded to one player in both the American League and National League, the All-MLB Team recognizes the best player(s) at each position across the Majors, as a whole.

The All-MLB Teams, which were introduced in 2019, are determined by a 50-50 split between fan votes and a panel of experts. Rodríguez was among 20 outfielders on the ballot and 71 total position players. Seattle’s other nominees were catcher Cal Raleigh, third baseman Eugenio Suárez and relievers Andrés Muñoz and Erik Swanson.

• All-MLB Team presented by Arm & Hammer and OxiClean

Monday’s recognition continues what’s been a busy awards season for Rodríguez, who received 29 of the 30 first-place votes to earn the AL Rookie of the Year Award, making him the fifth in Mariners history to take home that hardware. He also was named a Silver Slugger Award winner, Baseball America Major League Rookie of the Year, The Sporting News AL Rookie of the Year, the Players Choice Awards’ American League Outstanding Rookie and Baseball Digest AL Rookie of the Year in 2022.

Yet the All-MLB honor is an acknowledgment beyond his rookie status.

Among all big leaguers, Rodríguez ranked 21st with 5.3 wins above replacement, per FanGraphs, his 146 wRC+ (league average is 100) ranked ninth, his 28 homers were 26th, his .509 slugging percentage ranked 14th and his .853 OPS was 15th. Defensively, his nine outs above average were tied for eighth among outfielders and his +3 defensive runs saved ranked 23rd.

At 21 years old, Rodríguez emerged as not just one of the top rookies in baseball, but one of the game’s most productive players -- and the All-MLB honor was perhaps the most telling awards validation to suggest as much.

“There were just so many things that I didn't know about being in the big leagues,” Rodríguez said last month. “I feel like it definitely served as a learning experience, and I'm happy that I went through everything I went through in 2022, because it's definitely going to build up a good foundation for 2023.”