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Julio Rodriguez 2024 Player Outlook: Five-Tool Outfielder With Potential For More
12 months agoIf it wasn't for Ronald Acuna Jr., Julio Rodriguez would be in the conversation for being the number one pick in drafts. He followed up his rookie season by hitting .275/.333/.485 with 32 homers, 103 RBI, 102 runs and 37 stolen bases in 155 games. His 24.5% K% and 6.6% BB% aren't as good as some of the other elite hitters but his contact numbers make up for that. Rodriguez's 92.7 MPH average exit velocity and 52.0% HardHit% both ranked in the 95th percentile. His 29.6 ft/sec average sprint speed was in the 96th percentile so he had elite power and speed in 2023, all at the age of 22 years old. Rodriguez is the definition of a five-category contributor in fantasy. There isn't any reason to believe there'll be regression in 2024 as Rodriguez had very similar expected numbers to his actual ones. There's no shortage of young star hitters atop draft boards and Rodriguez certainly belongs in that company. We now have two years of numbers from Rodriguez and they all tell us he's worth a top-five pick. It wouldn't take much for him to end the year as the number-one player in fantasy.
