Breaking down Rojas' performance at the plate

NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Everyone knows what Johan Rojas is capable of defensively -- and the Phillies are confident he has enough offensive potential to warrant being the club's everyday center fielder.

Still, they simply want to see enough from him at the plate this spring before declaring him the Opening Day starter.

That doesn’t mean they need Rojas to hit .300 or spray the ball all over the park. In fact, the results themselves are largely irrelevant as it pertains to Rojas this time of year -- and Sunday afternoon was the perfect example.

The box score says Rojas went 0-for-4 with a strikeout in the Phillies’ 3-2 loss to the Braves at CoolToday Park. It dropped his spring average to .176 (3-for-17) with a .470 OPS. Since going 2-for-4 with a triple and three RBIs in his Grapefruit League debut, Rojas is just 1-for-13.

“You look at the at-bats,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said earlier this spring. “Are the mechanics working properly? Is he seeing the ball? Is he swinging at good pitches? Is he chasing? In Spring Training, a guy could hit .200, but the at-bats are a lot better.”

Well then, let’s take a closer look at each of Rojas’ four plate appearances on Sunday:

First inning vs. Chris Sale
Situation: Leading off game
Result: Strikeout

Before diving too far into this matchup, it’s worth noting that Sale once again looked a bit more like his former self on Sunday. His fastball reached 97 mph and his slider was working for most of the day.

That’s why it wasn’t overly concerning to see Rojas go down swinging to lead off the game -- plus, he pushed Sale to the limit.

Rojas began the at-bat by laying off a fastball just off the outside corner, then took a called strike on a breaking ball in a similar spot. Another borderline breaking ball caught the corner for strike two, but then Rojas buckled down.

The 23-year-old outfielder took a breaking ball off the plate, then fouled off a 95 mph fastball before taking another high fastball to work the count full. Sale ultimately got the best of Rojas, who swung through a 95 mph fastball at the letters on the seventh pitch of the lengthy at-bat.

Second inning vs. Sale
Situation: Two on, two outs
Result: Fielder’s choice

Rojas’ second showdown against Sale started off a bit rocky. With runners on first and second, Rojas swung through a nasty slider low and inside, then was unable to hold up on a check swing against a similar pitch.

Rojas, however, laid off a 97 mph heater just off the inside corner, then sent a high chopper down the third-base line. Braves third baseman Austin Riley made a leaping stab at the ball, and after bobbling it slightly, stepped on third base to end the inning.

“That's what I'm looking for is, is he under control?,” Thomson said of Rojas getting the ball in play. “There were a couple of pitches [earlier in the at-bat] where he overswung.”

Though this particular play ended a threat, it’s worth noting that without the forceout option, Riley may have been hard-pressed to get the speedy Rojas at first base.

“Just use his speed; the power will come with experience and repetitions,” Thomson said. “He's a talented guy and he's strong enough to hit home runs. You just can't force it.”

Fourth inning vs. Aaron Bummer
Situation: Runners on corners, one out
Result: Reached on error

Staring at a 1-2 count after taking an ugly hack at a backfoot slider that quite literally hit his back foot, Rojas shortened his swing and sent a hot shot toward Riley, who booted it for an error and allowed a run to score. Even if he handled it cleanly, Riley appeared set to attempt a play at the plate rather than try to turn an inning-ending double play.

Once again, therein lies the key for Rojas: Just get the ball in play. With traffic on the bases, Rojas’ speed will often force the defender to either rush the transfer in order to turn a double play or make a perfect throw at the plate to cut down the runner.

“I always go to home plate with a plan,” Rojas said. “It was just kind of put the ball in play because I knew we had a runner in scoring position. But I'm always trying to make things happen; that's what I go to the plate to do.”

Sixth inning vs. A.J. Minter
Situation: Bases empty, two outs
Result: Bunt groundout

Thomson opted to give Rojas -- who has been working relentlessly on his bunting every morning in Clearwater -- a fourth at-bat to try it out in a game setting.

Rojas’ attempt to push a bunt past the mound to second base came up a bit short as Minter sprinted off the mound to field it off one hop and toss to first for the out.

Even then, however, Rojas made it a much closer play than one would typically expect on a one-hop bunt back to the mound.

“It just goes to show you, that wasn't a very good bunt and he still almost beat it out,” Thomson said. “So we'll continue to work on it and continue to get his accuracy down, and he'll get there.”