D-Backs hope homegrown Rojas can ignite offense
DENVER — During Carlos Correa’s rehab assignment last month, infielder/ outfielder Josh Rojas remembers the Houston Astros star telling the club’s Triple-A players how good they were — and how some of them might be in the majors were they in a different organization.
“It kind of stinks you’re behind us, in a way,” Rojas remembers Correa saying.
Rojas’ inclusion in the Zack Greinke trade on July 31 meant he no longer was trapped in an Astros organization that, he said, has “MVPs all across the board.” But even Rojas seemed surprised by what came next, a feeling he conveyed while standing in the visitors’ clubhouse at Coors Field on Monday afternoon on his first day in the majors.
“I knew it was a good opportunity to get to the big leagues,” Rojas said. “It happened faster than I expected, for sure.”
The Diamondbacks selected Rojas’ contract from Triple-A Reno on Monday and started him in left field against the Colorado Rockies. For a team that has received little offensive production out of their corner outfielders in recent weeks, the Diamondbacks are hopeful Rojas can provide a spark.
Based on his production in the minors this season, the hope doesn’t seem far-fetched. In 479 plate appearances split between Double-A and Triple-A, Rojas hit .332/.418/.606 with 62 extrabase hits, including 23 homers.
“It’s a professional at-bat, it’s an advanced at-bat,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “He hunts for pitches. He hits in situations. And he’s fearless. Those are comments that are coming from player development, from his manager in Triple-A (Chris Cron). They don’t hand that out very often.”
Rojas, who grew up in Litchfield Park and played locally at Goodyear Millennium High and Paradise Valley Community College, has gone from being a lightly regarded 26th round pick out of the University of Hawaii to an intriguing offensive prospect with potentially valuable defensive versatility.
Coming up with Houston, he said he modeled his game after former Astros utility man Marwin Gonzalez. He said he made strides at the plate this year in large part thanks to an improvement in his approach. In previous years, he said, he took too many offspeed pitches for strikes.
“I focused on sitting on different pitches throughout the count rather than just waiting for a heater,” he said. “Because nowadays that’s not what you’re going to get. You got guys throwing 98 (mph) but they’ll throw you three sliders. The game’s changing so I’ve been trying to adjust with it.”
In the minors, Rojas has played everywhere on the field other than pitcher, catcher and center field. Lovullo said he plans to have him focus on playing the outfield for the time being. The Diamondbacks could use some production there; their corner outfielders have been among the least productive in the majors for almost two months.
For Rojas, the prospect of playing for his hometown team is something that didn’t hit home for him until he found out he was getting the call Sunday. He called his parents, told them the news and mentioned that he’d be home in a few days.
“I’m going to be staying at home again,” he said. “It’s crazy to think about.”
Rojas, 25, said former infielders Tony Womack and Orlando Hudson were two of his favorite Diamondbacks players growing up. He said as he got older he started rooting for players more than teams, and then focused his attention on the Astros after they drafted him in 2017.
“I guess now,” he said, “I can go back to my roots.”