“No One More Deserving..”: Reigning AL Rookie of the Year Julio Rodriguez Adds Another Feather to His Cap With an Exciting Revelation

Julio Rodriguez of the Seattle Mariners is adding another notch to his belt. The trading card company Topps just revealed the 2023 lineup for Series One and guess who made it to the cover? That’s right, it’s now other than the 2022 Rookie of the Year, J-Rod! It’s now time for The J-Rod Show. The 22-year-old reigning AL Rookie of the Year has another achievement to his list.

Rodriguez played a big part in leading the Mariners to their first postseason since 2001, and he isn’t one to be underestimated. With three defensive runs saved and an excellent performance on center field, Rodriguez surprised audiences. And the 146 wRC+, as well as 5.3 fWAR, were no joke either. With a 14-year contract extension, the Mariners have put their faith in Rodriguez as he keeps on collecting accolades.

Fans are delighted about Julio Rodriguez making the cover of Topps Series One

MLB.com shared the great news on their Twitter, which J-Rod later re-shared with the caption, “This cover is such an honor!! Thank you @Topps @Fanatics and everyone who made this possible 🙏🏽🙏🏽”

As an up-and-coming player posting amazing stats, baseball fans are standing behind Rodriguez. And it looks like he was the ideal choice for the Topps cover. Because people have already started buying them by the boatload in hopes of pulling Rodriguez. Perhaps most notably, the cards only went on sale Wednesday!

Looks like J-Rod is already under consideration for bigger MLB titles!

What led to J-Rod’s Topps cover selection?

According to ESPN, the chief revenue officer at Major League Baseball, Noah Garden, commented, “Every year, there’s a new crop of who you’re chasing in card collecting and Julio was who you were chasing, have been chasing for the last year.” He went on to explain how the strategy is to find out who can make it to the chase card and whether they have the stats on the diamond to prove it.

READ MORE – AL Rookie of the Year Julio Rodriguez Spreads Joy and Sportsmanship to the Youth of Loma de Cabrera

Obviously, Rodriguez did! The young player is for sure set to become a superstar in the coming years. After playing only 213 minor league games, the Mariner became the third youngest player in the major leagues in 2022. And he’s very excited about this new venture. “Motivating new fans, getting new kids into baseball, showing them that it’s possible — it’s a good feeling, motivating the generation that’s coming behind,” Rodriguez said of the cards.

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Lead on, J-Rod!