Johan Rojas is quietly doing what the Phillies hoped he would do all along
Rojas is making the most of regular playing time again, making a bid to keep the everyday center field job — just like the Phillies had hoped in the spring.
Johan Rojas was one of the targets of fans' frustrations for the better part of the first half after getting off to a slow start at the plate and questionable play in center field. The Philadelphia Phillies outfielder might have been the most scrutinized ninth batter in the majors up until his mid-June demotion to Triple-A.
Since the All-Star break, however, Rojas has turned a corner with the bat. He might be doing enough to convince Phillies manager Rob Thomson that he deserves the bulk of the playing time in center field for the remainder of the season.
Johan Rojas is quietly doing what the Phillies hoped he would do all along
The Phillies' trade for left fielder Austin Hays cut into Rojas' playing time, with Brandon Marsh getting more reps in center, per Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia. But when Hays went on the injured list, it threw the outfield back into flux. Since then, Rojas has been playing almost every day and making the most of it.
Post-All-Star break, he's batting .313/.365/.354 with a 106 wRC+ in 53 plate appearances. In his 32 plate appearances since Hays' hamstring injury, Rojas is batting .310/.375/.379 with a 116 wRC+ with a pair of doubles, six runs scored, five RBI and four stolen bases.
The Phillies will take those numbers from the recently-turned 24-year-old all day, especially after his first-half performance. This is the Rojas that the front office and coaching staff were banking on when they anointed him the center fielder out of spring training.
His at-bats look better. He doesn't look lost at the plate anymore. He certainly doesn't look overmatched like he did earlier in the season.
In 240 first-half plate appearances, Rojas slashed .231/.267/.298. His .231 batting average in itself wasn't a horrible mark, considering MLB hitters batting ninth this season have a .223 average.
The problem for Rojas came with his .267 on-base percentage — that's not high enough for him to provide enough offensive value. He's not a threat to steal and can't be a table-setter for the top of the lineup if he's not on base.
With his recent hot play, he has raised his season-long slash line to .245/.285/.308 in 91 games.
At the very least, Rojas has done enough to give Thomson something to think about when Hays returns to left field from the IL. Rojas' reverse splits might cause the Phillies manager a headache when deciding who to put in center.
With the right-handed hitting Rojas swinging a hotter bat against right-handed pitching this season, especially lately, and the left-handed hitting Marsh scuffling to a .177 average since the All-Star break, it shouldn't be as simple as lefty-righty matchups.
If Rojas is getting on base and causing havoc for opposing pitchers out of the nine-hole, that should be enough to keep him in the lineup, especially with his glove in center field.
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