Mariners’ Julio Rodriguez lands top center fielder honor from MLB Network

After a down year in 2024, Julio Rodriguez has bounced back in a big way this season. The Seattle Mariners star center fielder had a rocky 2024 campaign, hitting fewer home runs and not living up to the expectations many had on him. This season, though, Rodriguez came back with a vengeance.

Now, Rodriguez has been honored for his excellence this season. MLB Network has selected the Mariners outfielder as the best outfielder in the league.

Julio Rodríguez is the No. 1 center fielder on @MLBNow's #Top10RightNow. pic.twitter.com/NVt1aL4jtW

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 31, 2026

After missing out on being an All-Star in 2024, Rodriguez bounced back in 2025. The Mariners center fielder slashed .267/.324/.474 this season. While his batting average and on-base percentage remained relatively the same, the Mariners CF’s biggest improvement came in the slugging department. Rodriguez’s jump in slugging percentage was largely due to hitting more home runs this season. After hitting just 20 home runs the previous year, the Mariners outfielder had 32 homers in 2025.

That performance gave Rodriguez a few votes in the American League MVP race, finishing sixth. Rodriguez’s efforts was crucial to the Mariners’ best playoff run in the last two decades or so. Seattle made it all the way to the American League Championship Series, falling just short of beating the Toronto Blue Jays and making it to their first World Series. Despite that, the future is bright for the Mariners. Analyst Jon Morosi has high hopes for Rodriguez, believing he’s an early favorite to win the 2026 MVP.

“I do think that [Rodriguez] will figure it out and start to put it all together,” Morosi stated on a recent episode of Wyman and Bob. “He’s so talented, and he’s still only 25. I know that we’ve talked about his age before; you look at the top prospects list, and there are some 23-year-olds on it. Julio’s 25, and he has all this time already in the big leagues.”

Rodriguez will play in the upcoming World Baseball Classic for the Dominican Republic.

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