Julio Rodríguez, Cal Raleigh and J.P. Crawford: 2023 AL Silver Slugger Candidates

STATISTICS THRU GAMES OF SEPT. 20

RODRÍGUEZ, RALEIGH and crawford: SILVER IN THEIR FUTURE?…Julio Rodríguez (OF), Cal Raleigh © and J.P. Crawford (SS) are all strong candidates for the Silver Slugger award at their respective positions…Rodríguez is batting .285 (176x618), 97 runs, 35 doubles, 2 triples, 31 home runs, 100 RBI and 36 stolen bases, getting on base at a .342 clip and slugging .498 (.841 OPS) in 2023, leading the AL in hits…Raleigh is batting .235 (111x473) with 72 runs, 22 doubles, 1 triple, 29 home runs and 71 RBI, getting on base at a .311 clip and slugging .469 (.781 OPS) this season…Crawford is batting .264 (131x497) with 88 runs, 34 doubles, 16 home runs, 57 RBI and 88 walks, getting on base at a .378 clip and slugging .429 (.807 OPS).

· He Raleigh Loves to Double Dip — Cal Raleigh has recorded 5 multi-homer games this season (April 30 at TOR, May 15 at BOS, July 22 vs. TOR, July 31 vs. BOS and Aug. 21 at CWS), hitting 2 home runs in each contest…his 5 multi-homer games are tied for the most in the AL this season (also: Aaron Judge-NYY and Spencer Torkelson-DET).

• All-Star — Julio Rodríguez was named to his 2nd AL All-Star team on July 4.
• Double Pump — Julio Rodríguez recorded his 2nd career multi-homer game on July 25 at MIN.
• Let’s Talk About Six — Cal Raleigh drove in a career-high 6 runs on Aug. 23 at CWS.
• Cal Makes Fenway History — Cal Raleigh hit 2 home runs on May 15 at Boston, one as a left-handed hitter and one as a righty, becoming the first catcher in the history of Fenway Park to do so in the same game…he also became the 6th player in club history to homer from both sides of the plate in the same game.

RODRIGUEZ AMONG AL OUTFIELDERS…Julio Rodríguez has been one of the best outfielders on both sides of the ball this season, ranking 2nd in average (.285), 4th in OBP (.342), 3rd in SLG (.498), 3rd in OPS (.841), 3rd in HR (31), 3rd in RBI (100), 1st in stolen bases (36), 2nd in runs (97), 2nd in wRC+ (132) and 1st in fWAR (6.0) among AL outfielders this season.

RALEIGH AMONG AL CATCHERS…Cal Raleigh leads MLB catchers with 29 home runs this season, ranking ahead of, Yainer Díaz-HOU (23) and Salvador Perez-KC (21) in the AL…Cal also ranks 3rd in OPS (.781), 2nd in SLG (.469), 3rd in wRC+ (116), 2nd in OPS+ (115), 1st in extra-base hits (52) and 1st in fWAR (4.5) among AL catchers this season with at least 350 plate appearances.

CRAWFORD AMONG AL SHORTSTOPS…J.P. Crawford has been among the best offensive shortstops in the AL this season, ranking 5th in average (.264), 2nd in on base percentage (.378), 6th in slugging percentage (.429), 6th in OPS (.807), 2nd in wRC+ (131) and 5th in fWAR (4.2) while leading in walk rate (14.8%).

JULIO THE HISTORY MAKER…Julio Rodríguez became the 2nd player in MLB history to record 4+ hits in 4-consecutive games (August 16–19), joining Milt Stock of the Brooklyn Robins (June 30-July 3, 1925)…his 17 hits during the 4-game streak are the most hits in any 4-game stretch in MLB history, passing Stock’s 16 hits during his 4-game streak of 4+ hits.

HISTORIC POWER-SPEED COMBO…Julio Rodríguez became just the 4th player in MLB history age 22-or-younger with 30+ home runs and 30+ stolen bases in the same season, joining Alex Rodriguez-SEA (1998), Mike Trout-LAA (2012) & Ronald Acuña Jr.-ATL (2019)…Julio, who wears #44, is the 44th individual to join the 30/30 club in MLB history…he also joined Alex Rodriguez (1998) & Acuña Jr. (2019) to become just the 3rd player age 22-or-younger with a 30/30 season and 100 RBI in the same year.

SECOND HALF PERFORMERS… Julio Rodríguez, Cal Raleigh and J.P. Crawford have each been key performers in the Mariners strong second half:

• The Summer of Julio — Since July 22, Julio Rodríguez is batting .354 (81x229) with 44 runs, 17 doubles, 1 triple, 18 home runs, 50 RBI, 11 walks (5 intentional), 5 HBP and 14 stolen bases, getting on base at a .396 clip and slugging .673 (1.068 OPS)…during that span, Julio ranks 1st in wRC+ (191), doubles, home runs, RBI, average, slugging percentage, OPS and fWAR (3.9) among qualified AL hitters.
• Raleigh Good Run — Since July 22, Cal Raleigh ranks 2nd in the AL in home runs (17), trailing only Julio Rodríguez (18)…during that span, Raleigh is batting .260 (50x192) with 32 runs, 9 doubles and 35 RBI, getting on base at a .329 clip and slugging .573 (.902 OPS)…his 2.6 fWAR during that span ranks 5th in the AL, while his 146 wRC+ ranks T-14th.
• Steady Shortstop — Since July 1, J.P. Crawford is batting .291 (69x237) with 46 runs, 20 doubles, 10 home runs, 29 RBI and 43 walks, getting on base at a .406 clip and slugging .502 (.908 OPS)…during that span, he ranks 5th in OBP, T-8th in wRC+ (156), T-5th in fWAR (2.9) and 11th in OPS among AL hitters.

RALEIGH RECORD BREAKER…Cal Raleigh has 29 home runs and 52 extra-base hits this season, both franchise records for a catcher…the 29 homers surpass his own franchise record of 27, set in 2022, while the 52 extra-base hits passed Mike Zunino’s mark of 50, set in 2017…with 1 more home run this season, #29 would become the 29th catcher in MLB history (min. 60% of games at catcher) with a 30+ home run season.