Rodríguez fills up box score in three-hit night

Nights like Tuesday are becoming the norm for Julio Rodríguez and that spells trouble for opposing pitchers.

MLB's fifth overall prospect reached base four times during a 3-for-4 performance in High-A Everett's 5-3 win over Vancouver. Rodríguez drove in two runs, including a key insurance tally in the ninth, and swiped his fourth base of the season. The 20-year-old's third three-hit effort of the year lifted his slash line to .325/.413/.600 in 19 games.

Rodríguez, who walked only 25 times in 84 games in 2019, earned his 10th free pass of the season in the first inning and his third in four games. The No. 2 Mariners prospect then proceeded to do what he does best: hit. Rodríguez opened the scoring with an RBI single to center field before stealing second. He added two more base hits to his ledger including a two-out, run-scoring knock in the ninth.

It was the seventh multi-hit and fourth multi-RBI performance of the year for Rodríguez, who has hit safely in 16 of 19 to begin 2021. He recently homered in four straight games during a 10-game hitting streak.

His hot start has even caught the eye of Mariners manager Scott Servais.

“He's a much better player now than he was a year or so ago,” Servais recently told MLB.com. “So, I'm sure at some point here in the near future there will be the opportunity for him to move up when the time is right. Again, there are a lot of young players that are off to a great start. So, I'm really excited.”

While the 6-foot-3, 180-pounder isn't likely to join fellow outfielder Jarred Kelenic in the Majors this season, he continues to show why he's considered one of the game's best overall prospects. Rodríguez is coming off a sterling 2019 campaign when he batted .326/.390/.540 with 42 extra-base hits, 12 home runs and 69 RBI in 84 games despite missing nearly two months with a fractured left hand.

Rodríguez attended Spring Training on a non-roster invitation and proved up to the challenge, batting .321 with a .984 OPS in 18 Cactus League games.