Spend five minutes with Mariners outfield prospect Julio Rodriguez and it’s impossible not to walk away impressed.

The No. 26 overall prospect in baseball (No. 2 on the Mariners’ Top 30) is physically imposing, every bit of his listed 6-foot-4, 225-pound frame. He carries himself with confidence without it being overly cocky. The Dominican who signed for $1.75 million just over two years ago, in July 2017, speaks English beautifully. All of it makes it hard to believe he’s only 18 years old.

Oh, he can also really play. He managed to hit his way from the Class A South Atlantic League to the Class A Advanced California League and hit a combined .326/.390/.540 between the two levels. And that was over just 84 games, as he was forced to the sidelines for nearly two months following a .355/.444/.452 start over nine games in his first taste of full-season ball.

“It was kind of hard,” Rodriguez said. “I was off to a hot start. I was doing really well. When I got hurt, it was a [bad] break, but I felt I could overcome it and come back stronger.”

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He did that and then some, playing well enough that the Mariners felt comfortable to send him to the Arizona Fall League. The AFL is typically for players getting close to being big league ready, a finishing school for those at the upper levels. The league has more young players than it has in past years, but Rodriguez is still the youngest player competing this fall and is nearly four years younger than the average hitter.

“I was really excited when I first got the call that I was going to be playing here,” Rodriguez said. “I was really excited because last year, I was watching games. I was like, ‘I want to play there at some point.’ This is like a dream coming true for me.

“I was a little surprised. I knew I had done a good job, but thought maybe it would be next year. So I was surprised, but I feel I deserved it a little bit.”

He offsets the confidence with a disarming smile and a firm understanding that even if he feels he belongs, he knows he has things to work on. He’s had an advanced approach at the plate from the outset -- his career .395 on-base percentage serving as proof -- but he thinks he can become even more discerning and find ways to drive the ball more consistently, and that will be an area of focus for him with the Peoria Javelinas.

“I’m working to control my zone, make good decisions at the plate. That’s something I’m really looking forward to working on here,” Rodriguez said.

He’s also looking forward to reuniting in the outfield with top Mariners prospect Jarred Kelenic. Rodriguez and the M’s first-round pick in the 2018 Draft began the year together in West Virginia, and Mariners fans will get the chance to dream about a future All-Star caliber tandem once again when Kelenic comes back from having his wisdom teeth removed.

“It’s really fun,” Rodriguez said. “We started with the Mariners together this year in [Class] A. It was really fun to play with him, and now to have him here, playing together with him when he gets back, is going to be a lot of fun.”

Mariners hitters in the AFL
Jose Caballero, INF: Caballero came out of a Chipola Junior College program in 2017, when he was one of 11 from the school to get drafted. He missed two months of the season right before he was acquired by the Mariners from the D-backs in the Mike Leake deal. He’ll have his plus speed and defensive versatility (second, third and short) on display this fall.

Joe Rizzo, 3B/1B (Mariners No. 19 prospect): The Mariners’ second-round Draft pick in 2016 showed in '19 that repeating a level can be a very good thing. The infielder went back to the California League this past season and upped his OPS by more than 150 points. He’ll continue to work on refining his approach this fall while seeing time at multiple positions on the dirt.

Jarred Kelenic, OF (No. 1, MLB No. 14): One of the most dynamic prospects in baseball, Kelenic was coming off a first full season that saw him race through three levels of the system, finishing in Double-A as one of 10 20-20 players in the Minor Leagues. The only thing that could slow him down was having his wisdom teeth pulled, something that happened right when the AFL season was slated to begin and keeping him from joining the Peoria outfield. He’s 100 percent now and will be ready to make his AFL debut at the end of this week after heading to Seattle to receive an award.

Mariners pitchers in the AFL
Sam Delaplane, RHP: Delaplane was on MLB Pipeline’s Prospect Team of the Year as the reliever chosen for the second team -- and for good reason. A 23rd-round pick in the 2017 Draft out of Eastern Michigan, the reliever split the year between the Class A Advanced California League and the Double-A Texas League and finished with a 15.7 K/9 IP strikeout rate and .152 batting average against. He’s already exceeded expectations, and a strong Fall League could have him ready to continue on that path and up to the M’s bullpen.

Aaron Fletcher, LHP (No. 26): Fletcher had pitched his way across three levels to Double-A in his first full season of pro ball when the Nationals traded him to the Mariners in the Hunter Strickland trade. He finished well with his new organization and brought a combined 2.09 ERA, .192 BAA and 10.3 K/9 IP rate with him to Peoria’s bullpen in the AFL.

Raymond Kerr, LHP: Signed as a non-drafted free agent in August 2017, the Lassen Community College product has had to prove himself level by level. He’s served as both a starter and reliever, though he was definitely more effective coming out of the 'pen in the California League this year (.233 BAA, 11.25 K/9 IP), something he’s continuing to do for Peoria.

Penn Murfee, RHP: Murfee went from Vanderbilt University to Santa Clara in 2018 and was drafted in the 33rd round of the MLB Draft that June as a fifth-year senior. Though he relieved at Santa Clara, he got 20 starts in the California League and showed he can miss bats (10.8 K/9) and get ground-ball outs. Already 25, the AFL could help him jump on a faster track.