Rodríguez slugs first homer, flirts with cycle

With Jarred Kelenic reportedly on his way to the Majors, Julio Rodríguez  made a point of reminding the Mariners there's plenty more to come.

MLB's No. 5 prospect hit his first home run and finished a triple shy of the cycle to help lead High-A Everett past visiting Tri-City, 13-3, Tuesday night. Rodríguez drove in three runs, scored three times and has hit safely in five straight and six of seven to begin the season.

Coming off a 2-for-5, two-stolen base performance on Sunday, the 20-year-old laced his third double of the year to center and scored on No. 29 M's prospect Tyler Keenan's first-career home run in the opening frame. Rodríguez joined the homer parade in the next frame, blasting a two-run shot over the scoreboard in right-center field. He went down swinging in his next at-bat but came through with a single to left to produce his third RBI of the night, equaling his total through his first six games.

Needing a triple to complete the cycle, the 6-foot-3, 180-pounder walked in the eighth and scored on Keenan's third hit of the night. Rodríguez has three multi-hit performances in seven games and is batting .345/.424/.621 with five extra-base hits, seven runs and six RBIs.

Rodríguez put together a strong campaign with the Mariners' Dominican Summer League squad in 2018 and followed up with a breakout season the next year. Despite not having played domestically and entering 2019 at 18 years old, the Dominican Republic native made the jump to Class A and finished in High-A. Despite missing nearly two months with a fractured left hand, Rodríguez batted .326/.390/.540 with 42 extra-base hits, 12 home runs and 69 RBIs in 84 games.

He fractured the same hand during last year's Summer Camp but returned in time to compete in the Arizona Instructional League and Dominican Winter League. Rodríguez attended Spring Training on a non-roster invitation and impressed with a .321 average and .984 OPS in 18 Cactus League games.

Keenan's two-run homer snapped an 0-for-19 skid to begin his professional career. The 22-year-old added a pair of doubles for his first three-hit game and finished with five RBIs. Mariners No. 13 prospect Zach DeLoach snapped a 1-for-13 slide with a two-run double during Everett's four-run fourth.

Angels No. 13 prospect Livan Soto led off the game with a home run for Tri-City and finished a triple shy while scoring twice.

Mariners 30th-ranked prospect Matt Brash struck out a career-high 10 in four scoreless innings of relief. The 23-year-old allowed one hit and walked three en route to the first save of his career.