Mariners star Rodriguez named AL Rookie of Year
Julio Rodriguez grew up in Loma de Cabrera, a small Dominican town of roughly 20,000 located near the Haitian border. Before him, the only prominent baseball player from there was Rafael Furcal, an All-Star shortstop through the 2000s.
Rodriguez looked up to Furcal as a kid. He remembers the parade that the city organized for him and all the fanfare that came with it. Now Rodriguez will get one of his own. When the Seattle Mariners‘ dynamic young center fielder returns home this offseason, a parade will take place in his honor. It will be a holiday in his hometown.
“It’s gonna be pretty exciting,” Rodriguez said, smiling. “I’m definitely going to try to enjoy it.”
Rodriguez was named the American League Rookie of the Year in near-unanimous fashion on Monday, a fitting cap to a stirring campaign that saw him dazzle at the Home Run Derby, perform among the sport’s best players and propel the Mariners to a long-awaited trip to the playoffs.
Rodriguez received 29 of 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, with Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman receiving the other. Cleveland Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan, Kansas City Royals infielder Bobby Witt Jr. and Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively, in the voting.
Rodriguez, 21, electrified the city of Seattle and captivated an entire nation of baseball fans with his youthful exuberance, pronounced swagger and wide-ranging talent. He slashed .284/.345/.509, leading all rookies in homers (28), OPS (.855) and total bases (260) while helping the Mariners clinch their first postseason berth since 2001, snapping the longest active drought among the four major North American professional sports.
Along the way, Rodriguez consistently came through in big spots, dazzling with his defense, power and speed. His 5.3 FanGraphs wins above replacement tied that of Rutschman for the rookie lead and was topped by only 21 position players throughout the sport.
Rodriguez, who added 25 stolen bases and 25 doubles, is now the fifth Mariners player to win rookie of the year, after Alvin Davis (1984), Kazuhiro Sasaki (2000), Ichiro Suzuki (2001) and Kyle Lewis (2020).
Only two other players since 1900 have accumulated at least 28 home runs, 25 stolen bases and 25 doubles in their age-21-or-younger seasons — Mike Trout and Andruw Jones. Rodriguez is the first player ever to combine 25 home runs with 25 stolen bases in his first season in the big leagues and the third to do so while still rookie eligible, along with Trout and Chris Young, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
The Mariners envisioned Rodriguez as a potential star when they signed him out of the Dominican Republic for $1.75 million in the summer of 2017, but he profiled more as a power-hitting corner outfielder. Rodriguez worked to turn himself into a five-tool center fielder, zooming through the Mariners’ minor league system — despite losing an entire season to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 — and cracking the team’s Opening Day roster this spring.
Before the end of August, the Mariners rewarded Rodriguez with a long-term extension that will pay him anywhere between $210 million and $470 million over the life of his career, an unprecedented — and highly incentivized — contract for someone with less than a full year of major league service time. But before all that came struggle. Rodriguez went homerless with a .544 OPS during his first month in the big leagues. But he recovered well enough to become the only rookie to make the All-Star team.
“I feel like that’s when I learned the most — on the down parts,” Rodriguez said during a video conference with the media after winning the award. “That rough start to the beginning, whenever I maybe was not doing so good, all those things that happened that first year that kind of opened my eyes — I’m gonna take all that. And I know it’s gonna serve me well along my career.”
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Pete Thamel, ESPN
Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers is not expected to play against Mississippi State on Saturday, per sources, as the Longhorns staff is expected to sit him out in order for him to be fully healthy for the game against Oklahoma on Oct. 12.
A final decision on Ewers is expected later Saturday, per sources, but the decision is trending toward allowing him to use Texas’ week off following the Mississippi State game to get healthy. Ewers has been considered week-to-week since injuring his oblique against UTSA on Sept. 14.
Ewers finished the week at nearly 70%, as he practiced Tuesday, was limited Wednesday and ended up limited in practice Thursday to allow him to fully heal. Per sources, the Texas coaching staff wanted to give Ewers the extra rest to ensure he’d return at full strength.
The decision means that Texas will against start backup quarterback Arch Manning, who will make his first career start in an SEC game. Manning made his first start against Louisiana Monroe, completing 15 of 29 passes for 258 yards. He had two touchdown passes and two interceptions.
Ewers’ oblique injury came in the wake of him displaying one of the season’s best performances at Michigan in Week 2, as he threw for 246 yards and three touchdowns in a blowout Texas win in Ann Arbor.
Mississippi State enters the game on a three-game losing streak, which includes back-to-back blowout home losses to Toledo and Florida. The Bulldogs are trending toward finishing at the bottom of the SEC, as they have one of the country’s worst defenses. They are No. 111 nationally in total defense and No. 107 in scoring defense.
Mississippi State will also be without its starting quarterback, as starter Blake Shapen is out for the year after suffering a shoulder injury against Florida. Michael Van Buren, a true freshman, will make his first career start for the Bulldogs.
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Pete Thamel, ESPN
Georgia defensive lineman Mykel Williams is a “true game-time decision” for the No. 2 Bulldogs at No. 4 Alabama on Saturday night, according to ESPN sources.
Williams has missed the previous two games with a Grade 2 ankle sprain, which he suffered against Clemson in the opener. He’ll be evaluated in pregame warmups and a decision will be made on his status.
Williams has been limited in practice this week, and it’s expected that if he does play it’ll be at less than 100 percent. He’s also unlikely to play a heavy snap count if he does play, as he’s working his way back.
Williams is a marauding defensive end who is the best player in Georgia’s front seven and is a high-end NFL prospect. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. has him ranked No. 4 overall player for the 2025 NFL draft.
Williams started the season hot before injuring his ankle against Clemson, as he had two tackles for loss and three quarterback pressures in that game.
They will be an onus on Georgia’s defensive line, especially on the ends, to help slow Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe in Tuscaloosa.
Georgia’s defensive line will benefit from the return of senior Warren Brinson, who is listed as probable after missing the past two games. Sophomore defensive lineman Jordan Hall is questionable for the SEC showdown.
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Pete Thamel, ESPN
Utah quarterback Cam Rising, who has been snakebit by injuries the past two years, is again expected to be a game-time decision against Arizona on Saturday night, sources told ESPN.
Rising has missed No. 10 Utah’s past two games after an injury to his throwing hand that he suffered against Baylor on Sept. 7. He missed all of last season after an ACL tear in the Rose Bowl following the 2022 season.
Rising’s status will undergo the same evaluation process with the Utah staff as before the Oklahoma State game last week. He’ll throw the ball pregame, and his ability to deliver spin and velocity on the ball will determine whether he’ll play, per sources.
As Rising has struggled to recover and get back on the field, one factor that could weigh into the decision is the chance to get him back fully healthy in two weeks. Utah has a bye before they play at Arizona State on Oct. 11.
Rising has practiced this week but remained limited as the staff has attempted to rest his finger.
Freshman Isaac Wilson has started the past two weeks, leading the Utes to victories over Utah State in Logan and in Stillwater against the Cowboys.
Wilson has shown both moments of promise and interspersed those with moments that have illuminated his youth. He threw for 207 yards on 17-of-29 passing against Oklahoma State. He also threw two interceptions. He threw for three touchdowns and 239 yards against Utah State.
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