Jose Ramirez and the Cleveland Guardians will look to stick around at the top of the AL Central through a weekend series against the Minnesota Twins. Can Jose Ramirez earn the spotlight? Let’s see what the MLB odds tell us at the top-rated sportsbooks!
The Seattle Mariners are currently fighting for an AL Wild Card spot in the middle of September. The last time that the Mariners were in the playoffs was in 2001. I was six years old, but now the Mariners have a legitimate chance this season.
They’re 79-62 on the year and have a five-game advantage over the Baltimore Orioles, who are on the outside looking in. The Mariners have won six of their last ten games, and if they keep up that pace, they’ll likely make the playoffs this year.
The Mariners have been able to keep up with this pace thanks to rookie outfielder Julio Rodriguez. The Mariners are a very young team with not many superstars, but Rodriguez is taking on that role of becoming the team’s next big superstar. His production will be needed in their next series against the Los Angeles Angels.
Pitchers Rodriguez Will Likely Face vs. Twins
When the Mariners take on the Angels over the weekend, Julio Rodriguez will face Michael Lorenzen, Shohei Ohtani, and Tucker Davidson.
Michael Lorenzen
On Friday, Rodriguez will face Lorenzen, who has a 6.89x FIP with 9.1% of strikeouts and 18.2% of walks over his last 22 plate appearances.
His last 17 righties faced have a .347 wOBA and ISO of .231. They’ve also walked 23.5% of the time and have hit 27.3% of line drives.
Shohei Ohtani
On Saturday, Rodriguez will take on Shohei Ohtani. That’s likely that matchup that fools Rodriguez.
We won’t have any expectations for Rodriguez in Saturday’s game against Ohtani. Ohtani is a one-of-a-kind player that can keep Rodriguez off the board.
Tucker Davidson
Julio will face Tucker Davidson on Sunday, who also has a 6.47 xFIP over the last 30 days. He’s struck out 16% of batters while walking 13.6% over the last month.
Righties have a .384 wOBA and ISO of .217 in their last 70 plate appearances against Davidson.
Julio Rodriguez’s Splits
In the last 30 days, Rodriguez has hit a .291 ISO and wOBA of .379 against righties. He has a BABIP of .321 and has hit just 40.7% of ground balls and 39% of fly balls.
Still, Rodriguez has struck out 23.5% of the time against righties with just 7.1% of walks. Ultimately, when he makes contact against righties, he’s hitting the ball with a high exit velocity.
Rodriguez has also hit 20.3% of line drives in his last 85 plate appearances against righties. That’s about average for a major league hitter, but with how hard he hits the ball, those line drives can be severe threats against righties.
Rodriguez vs. Lefties
Against lefties, Rodriguez has struggled badly. He’s hitting a .111 ISO with a wOBA of .320 over his last 31 plate appearances against lefties.
Still, Rodriguez has struck out fewer times and has walked more. He’s struck out 19.4% of the time and walked 12.9% of the time in the last 30 days. He also has a BABIP of .300 with 38.1% of ground balls hit compared to 28.6% of line drives hit.
Realistically, he’s made better contact against lefties than righties, but the results are showing more against righties than lefties. His exit velocity is lower against lefties but it seems like he’s having better at-bats against lefties.
How Rodriguez Will Perform vs. Angels Starters
The Angels will send out Michael Lorenzen and Tucker Davidson in two of three games.
Michael Lorenzen
Lorenzen has an xFIP nearing seven with a strikeout rate under 10%.
However, that’s through his last 22 plate appearances. Maybe Lorenzen will settle down in his next appearance.
However, Rodriguez, as a MLB pick, has a great matchup here against the righty. He’s seen more results against righties when it comes to power and just getting on base in general.
Tucker Davidson
Meanwhile, Tucker Davidson is a lefty, but he also struggles against righties a bit. Davidson has an xFIP nearing seven, like Lorenzen, and won’t be able to earn many strikeouts in his start.
Rodriguez figures to tee off against Lorenzen and Davidson, despite both pitchers pitching from different sides. On Saturday, Rodriguez will take on Ohtani.
You can’t expect him to destroy against Ohtani, but if he’s able to produce a hit or help knock Ohtani out of the game due to a high pitch count, then he’ll do his job.
A lot of hitters enjoy hitting against the Los Angeles Angels. Rodriguez will be another one.
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