Julio Rodriguez has moved another step closer to the big leagues.
The Mariners' prized outfield prospect, who is rated as one of the top five prospects in all of baseball by multiple outlets, was officially promoted to Class AA Arkansas on Monday. The team announced the move via its player development Twitter account — @MsPlayerDev — which has a variety of information and videos.
Rodriguez spent the past six days in Puebla, Mexico, helping the Dominican Republic qualify for the upcoming summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. While he had only one hit in 10 plate appearances, Rodriguez did make a spectacular catch in the eighth inning of the championship game against Venezuela.
It's the second time that the Dominican Republic has qualified for the Olympics, rounding out a six-team field that features Japan, the United States, Israel, Korea and Mexico. Group A will feature Japan, Mexico and the Dominican Republic and Group B will be the U.S., Israel and Korea.
Opening ceremonies for the Olympics start July 23. The baseball competition begins July 28 and runs through Aug. 7.
The Mariners have told Rodriguez he would go to Tokyo if his team qualified, believing it to be a positive in his development.
Until then, he'll be in right field for the Travelers, who were off Monday and open a six-game series in Tulsa against the Drillers.
Based on Rodriguez performance in the High-A Northwest League, the Mariners planned to promote him after this last Olympic qualifier, regardless of the outcome. In 28 games with the Everett AquaSox, Rodriguez posted a .325/.410/.581 slash line in 134 plate appearances with eight doubles, two triples, six homers, 21 RBI, five stolen bases, 14 walks and 29 strikeouts.
