THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Julio: From .206 in April to King of ... ?

So, it’s official.

Julio Rodriguez is the 2022 American League Rookie of the Year.

Yawn!

If you didn’t see that coming, I’d suggest you stay off busy highways.

Regarding Julio, one of the brightest, most entertaining and engaging athletes to come around in quite some time, this rookie award thing fits somewhere down the list.

For instance …

“Julio is the king of Seattle,” proclaimed teammate Luis Castillo.

Luis is on to something, but I think he might be undershooting the mark.

Barring injury or some other freak circumstance, Julio Rodriguez eventually may be crowned king of baseball.

He’s that good.

And getting better.

The rookie award was a foregone conclusion, obviously, but perhaps a lot of Mariners fans already have been dazzled to the point that they’ve forgotten spring training — and the first month of the 2022 regular season.

Julio, believe it or not, was no cinch to make the Mariners’ opening-day roster.

He’d played just 46 games at the Double-A level, and none above that.

“The jump to the majors is huge,” warned manager Scott Servais. “Kids start to see pitching they’d never imagined.”

THE PLAN was for the 6-4, 230-pound Rodriguez to play a corner outfield spot — most likely right field, with Jesse Winker penciled in for left.

Except …

Julio intended to play center.

In fact, he’d spent the entire offseason working with various pros and trainers on his speed, while at the same time re-sculpting his body.

When he arrived in Arizona, just as strong but lean and startlingly quick, the Mariners were stunned.

Suddenly, their power-hitting prospect was also one of the fastest players in MLB, and he’d worked relentlessly on the angles necessary to play center field.

Mariners vice president Jerry Dipoto was surprised, then thrilled, then effusive about his always smiling young prospect.

“You can say now that Julio is a five-tool player,” Dipoto told reporters.

Just for the record, in baseball scouting, five is the max regarding tools.

That’s the whole package.

Oh, and yeah, the Mariners improved by 19 defensive runs saved in center field from 2021 to last season.

On offense …

Julio hammered a three-run home in his first spring training at-bat, and it became obvious that one question — would he make the team on opening day? — was no longer an issue.

We know now how the season went for Julio Rodriguez.

He became the fastest rookie in major-league history to record 25 homers and 25 steals.

He DID become king of Seattle with his infectious smile and team-first attitude as the Mariners set out to break that two-decade playoff drought.

He announced himself to America by hitting an astonishing 81 bombs in the Home Run Derby during All-Star week.

All that is in the books, along with a staggering new contract that guarantees Julio $209 million over 12 years — and much more if he, say, becomes the league MVP sometime down the road.

I’VE BEEN incredibly fortunate to see some of the game’s very best up close.

When I was a teenager in the Bay Area, Willie Mays was in his prime with the Giants — and I will argue forever that he’s the best player who ever lived.

Throughout a huge chunk of my professional life, I traveled with the Kansas City Royals, and got to see George Brett up close every night.

And now, amazingly, I feel almost giddy at watching the start of what could be a career for the ages with Julio Rodriguez.

Here’s what I’ll remember most about the start of Julio’s career …

He hit just .206 in April.

In some kind of vigilante justice that I’ll never understand, umpires had heard all the fuss over this kid, and decided to teach him some humility.

During that first month, Julio was the victim of 10 third called strikes that Statcast showed were outside the strike zone.

For the record, no other player in MLB was similarly victimized more than five times — half of Julio’s total.

I’ll never understand why it happened, but it made me angry.

The Mariners were furious, as well, to the point that they sent proof of the calls to MLB.

Servais said: “This is just wrong. The kid is 21 years old. Let him play.”

BUT HERE’S the bigger point …

Julio never threw a fit, never pouted, and most important, never began chasing bad pitches.

“I’m going to stay true to myself,” Rodríguez said on April 22.

“I guarantee it’s going to come around.”

You know the rest.

Julio hit his first home run on May 1, a monstrous shot off Marlins All-Star Sandy Alcantara.

And from there?

From May through September, Julio slashed .297/.355/.550 for a .905 OPS and 159 wRC+ (“Weighted Runs Created Plus,” with 100 being the major league average).

Those five-month numbers were fourth-best in the American League — behind Aaron Judge, Yordan Alvarez and Jose Altuve.

Not bad company.

Julio’s goals, though, are somewhere through the stratosphere. He was the one who insisted on performance-based pay (for things like winning the league MVP).

After what we’ve seen …

Why not?

As Dipoto put it …

“With Julio, there is no unrealistic expectation.”

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Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally on Tuesday through Friday.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”