This story was excerpted from Daniel Kramer’s Mariners Beat newsletter. MLB.com's David Adler pinch-hit for this story. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox

Center field at T-Mobile Park is the J-Rod No Fly Zone. But right field? That's the J-Rod Big Fly Zone.

Julio Rodríguez's all-fields power has arrived in full force. The Mariners star's first 30-30 season was built on the home runs he's crushed to the opposite field. No one's robbing those balls.

J-Rod is the only hitter in the Majors this year who's slugged double-digit opposite-field homers. A third of his home runs have gone to right field.

Most opposite-field HR, 2023
Entering this week
10 -- Julio Rodríguez
9 -- Matt Olson, Christian Yelich, Gleyber Torres
8 -- Corbin Carroll, DJ LeMahieu, Anthony Volpe, Marcell Ozuna

"It's really important. It adds more to what I can do," Rodríguez told MLB.com. "I'm not just gonna be a pull hitter. I feel like I'm able to do damage throughout every field. And with pitchers, I can give them something more to deal with."

The best way to appreciate it is to see it. Here's what Rodríguez's home run spray chart looks like this year compared to as a rookie.

He's doubled his opposite-field home run total from 2022 to '23. Rodríguez had five oppo tacos as a rookie, vs. 21 pulled home runs, three-quarters of his season total of 28. This year, under half of his homers have been pulled (14 of 30), as he's spreading the ball across the field more evenly.

"I feel like last year I was pretty good hitting the ball," the reigning AL Rookie of the Year said. "But this year, with my swing, I've just been staying on pitches more, waiting on the ball to travel. Especially whenever they're on the middle-outside part of the plate. I feel like I'm able to recognize the pitches and let the ball be hit where she wants to be hit."

It's not just home runs -- Rodríguez has also basically doubled his opposite-field extra-base hits, from 11 in 2022 to 21 in 2023.

He's one of only six hitters with 20-plus opposite-field extra-base hits, along with Nathaniel Lowe, Yelich, Rafael Devers, Jesús Sánchez and Freddie Freeman. 

All those extra-base hits give Rodríguez a slugging percentage of .790 on his opposite-field contact, one of the highest marks in baseball. Lots of hitters get their slugging from pull power -- Mookie Betts, for example -- but the 22-year-old Rodríguez is blossoming into a hitter who's dangerous no matter where he hits the ball.

"I know I've got power, but I don't consider myself as a 'normal' power hitter who's just gonna try to pull up homers," Rodríguez said. "I feel like being able to [spray the ball], even if it's a line drive, that's something that I've been doing -- even since I was in the Minors. So I just feel like now, they're going out."

J-Rod rips the ball to every part of the field. When he pulls it, his average exit velocity is 94.0 mph. When he hits to straightaway center, it's 92.9 mph. And when he goes oppo, it's 92.2 mph.

Highest opposite-field exit velo, 2023
Min. 75 batted balls to opposite field
92.2 mph -- Julio Rodríguez
90.8 mph -- Nathaniel Lowe
90.5 mph -- Shohei Ohtani, Brandon Marsh
90.3 mph -- Randy Arozarena, Bo Bichette

It's no accident that Rodríguez's surge into the MVP mix in the second half has coincided with him tapping into his opposite-field power. J-Rod was a good all-fields hitter in the first half. He's an elite all-fields hitter in the second half.

Rodríguez on oppo contact

• 1st half: 91.1 mph exit velo, 4 HR, .355 BA, .649 SLG
• 2nd half: 94.7 mph exit velo, 6 HR, .462 BA, 1.129 SLG

This is not just a matter of Rodríguez staying with outside pitches and poking them to right field. It's a clear approach to mash the ball the other way with authority.

Rodríguez's opposite-field home runs have predominantly come against high-velocity fastballs that are middle-away. J-Rod attacks those pitches with an inside-out swing designed to take advantage of his strong, fast hands and do damage to center or right.

"My whole approach is not really 'Hit the ball the other way.' It's more 'Stay through the middle,' and that's what allows me to stay the other way, too," Rodríguez said. "Because if you're not trying to cheat on the ball, and just covering both sides [of the plate] -- if I stay to the middle, those pitches out there, I'm gonna be able to drive them better over there [to right]. I feel like that's the type of hitter I've been. And I like to stick to that strength."