Mariners Moose Tracks, 5/15/21: Julio Rodríguez again, Tyler Flowers, and Shohei Ohtani

Some weekend links.

By Anders Jorstad@AndersJorstad May 15, 2021, 7:00am PDT

Los Angeles Angels v Boston Red Sox

Hello everyone! Yesterday sure was fun. Let’s do it again today!

In Mariners news...

Oh look, another Julio homer.

Julio Rodriguez. Mariners #2 prospect. Third HR already this season for High-A Everett.

Elite bat speed & quick hands produce consistent hard contact. Plus plus power and plus hitting ability.

2022 ETA. Possible he joins Kelenic in the OF late in 2021. pic.twitter.com/kpgZGZjGy7
— hashim (@___hash___) May 15, 2021

There’s our boy at the top!

Far-Too-Early Notable SwStr% Leaders

A: Adam Macko 23.9% (1st)
A+: Luis Medina 21.4% (2nd)
A+: Grayson Rodriguez 20% (3rd)
AA: Tylor Megill 21% (2nd)
AA: Roansy Contreras 20% (4th)
AA: DL Hall 19.9% (5th)
AA: Hunter Greene 18.8% (7th)
AAA: Jean Carlos Mejia 20.9% (3rd)
— Jesse Roche (@jaroche6) May 14, 2021

The Mariners farmhands are almost fully vaccinated, while the big league club is struggling to get even half of the team on board. Ryan Divish has the story.

Around the league...

This guy has been around for a while now. Congrats to him on his retirement!

Tyler Flowers has decided to retire. He played the past few seasons with two degenerative discs in his back and developed another while preparing to resume his career with the Braves in a few weeks. He’ll always be remembered for revolutionizing the art of pitch framing.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) May 14, 2021

Ashley MacLennan at Fangraphs is disappointed in where the Tigers are at in their rebuild.
The Tigers did manage to retain the top prospect they got in the Justin Verlander trade, who has been dealing with injuries for the last few years.

After clearing unconditional release waivers, the Tigers have resigned RHP Franklin Pérez to a Minor League contract.
— Tigers PR (@DetroitTigersPR) May 14, 2021

Scott Miller at The New York Times talks about Shohei Ohtani, who is now finally showing off the talent everyone was so excited about when he signed.
It sounds like Albert Pujols might be coming back pretty soon.

There are 3-4 teams in on free-agent first baseman Albert Pujols. The 41-year-old, recently released by the Los Angeles Angels, has indicated that he wants to continue playing.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) May 14, 2021

RJ McDaniel at Fangraphs has a story on Vlad Guerrero, Jr. who is now turning into the star everyone expected him to be.