At the off day on Monday, Seattle Mariners prospect Brock Rodden is hitting an impressive .263 for the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers. The infielder, who turns 26 on Monday, has seven home runs and 38 RBIs.

A switch-hitter, Rodden was drafted by the Mariners in the fifth round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of Wichita State. Though he's not on the 40-man roster yet, several M's fans are calling for him to get promoted. An excellent fielder, he won a Minor League Gold Glove in 2024, and would likely help the M's shore up their defensive woes.

Rodden joined the most recent edition of the 'Refuse to Lose Territory' podcast to talk about his season, some of his teammates in Tacoma, his journey and much more.

On his health

Rodden played just 41 games last season, hitting .293 as he battled a multitude of injuries. Finally healthy, he's already played in 51 games this year, getting a chance to get a nice rhythm to his game. 

"It's nice, man. It's everything. Staying healthy is the key. Last year obviously was tough, battling a lot of different injuries and stuff. I was fortunate enough to be able to play in the (Arizona) Fall League, like you said, get some extra games under my belt after missing so much the season. I think the Fall League kind of helped me get ready for the upcoming year, get some more at-bats later in the year and, you know, having a good year so far."

Rodden was sidelined with a broken hamate bone, which is the same injury that sidelined Francisco Lindor and Jackson Holliday earlier this year. It's notoriously difficult to come back from.

On what he's learned from MLB guys

Rodden has been around Mariners major leaguers at spring training before, appearing in numerous Cactus League games, but he's also had the experience of playing with them while they have been on minor league rehab assignments.

Thus far, Victor Robles, Bryce Miller, Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and JP Crawford have all spent time in the minor leagues, with Leo Rivas and Ryan Bliss also currently playing in Tacoma.

On what he's learned from those players:

"I think the biggest thing for me is just learning their routines, seeing how they take care of their body, seeing what they do in the weight room every day. Their cage routines, you know, their high-performance stuff, the way they eat and just take care of themselves.

You know, I think being a professional comes down to consistency — how consistent you can be on a daily basis, with everything. You know, that's hydration, the way you eat, where you take care of yourself in the training room, work out, all of it.

Question: How about on the pitching side? You guys have seen Speier this weekend. You've had Brash down there recently. We saw Bryce Miller down there. What, what about from the pitching side? What do you see in them that's just a separator between the guys who you typically see in AAA?

Rodden: Well, I mean, Brash's slider doesn't really need much explaining. You know, got to play shortstop behind him and whenever there's a left-hand hitter, I'm kind of directly behind second base, so I get to see the movement and that thing's a little different.

So he doesn't need a whole lot of explaining. But, Speier, like, they're just very consistent. Like I said they throw the ball where they want to. They can hit the corners and they just know how to stay off the barrel."

Of note

You can listen to the full conversation on the most recent 'Refuse to Lose Territory' podcast here, or you can watch on YouTube below:

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Remember to join our MARINERS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Mariners fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!