There's no better time for any hitter in baseball to heat up, especially with the postseason beckoning. And for the Seattle Mariners, a team that ranks in the middle of the pack in runs scored per game in 2023, they'll be counting on Julio Rodriguez to shoulder a heavy offensive workload. And to Rodriguez's credit, he has delivered in a way no one could have reasonably expected out of him in recent games.

In his past three games, the most recent of which came against the defending champion Houston Astros, Rodriguez has gone 13-16 from the plate (good for a batting average of .813), hitting two home runs, two doubles, and driving in eight runs in the process. The most important statistic, however, is that the Mariners won all those games. Overall, they have won 12 of their past 15 games, putting them in position to make the postseason if the season ended today.

When asked about Julio Rodriguez's performances as of late, Astros manager Dusty Baker could only throw his hands up as he and his team struggle to come up with answers on how to slow the Mariners star down.

“When you're hot, you're hot,” Dusty Baker said, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.

It's not like the Mariners faced bottom of the barrel pitchers during Julio Rodriguez's hot run. During the Mariners' 2-0 win over the Astros on Friday, Rodriguez and company squared off against J.P. France, one of the most reliable starters in the Astros rotation thus far this season. Even then, the 22-year old centerfielder reached base in every plate appearance against France, including a solo shot in the top of the third inning.

Just to put in greater perspective how on fire Rodriguez has been as of late, he still reached base on the only out that showed up on his line on Friday night. Simply put, the Mariners once again loom as dark-horse threats to mount a deep playoff run, thanks in large part to how dangerous the 22-year old's bat has been.

Following another strong outing, Rodriguez is now slashing .274/.333/.460 with 21 home runs and 79 runs batted in on the season.