Mel Rojas Jr. dominated the KBO in 2020, his fourth year with KT. He batted .344 with 47 home runs and 135 RBIs and was named the league MVP. After four years in the KBO, he joined the Hanshin Tigers in Japan, where he struggled. With his precise pitches, fastball, and relentless pursuit of weaknesses, he was a natural fit for Japanese baseball. He was released by Hanshin after the 2022 season.
After playing in the Dominican League in 2023, he returned after three years when KT offered him a contract after the season. He played for over a month after his return. As of today, he is batting 2-for-8 with 10 home runs, 25 RBIs, 28 runs scored, and a 1.035 OSP (on-base plus slugging percentage). He’s not the devastating force he was in 2020, but he’s doing his job and contributing to the offense. Or, more accurately, he’s regaining his destructive power from the 2020 season.
Manager Lee Kang-cheol, who met with Rojas at the Gwangju-Gia Champions Field on Jan. 1, attached great significance to his walks. 스포츠토토 Through April, Rojas has drawn 29 walks. That’s the most in the league. Not surprisingly, he also leads the league in strikeouts per at-bat (0.18). In the four years leading up to 2020, his rate was 0.09 per at-bat, so he”s improved by leaps and bounds.
The on-base percentage is high. He’s seventh in the league at 4-for-2.7.
Lee said, “He’s very patient with pitches. It’s better than before I went to Japan. Especially, he sees a lot of left-handed pitches and is surprisingly not hitting them. His strikeout rate is over 4%. Because he sees the ball well and gets on base (four times), Moon’s RBIs are increasing. That helps the team a lot. His base running is different, he’s sprinting,” he applauded.
With Rojas creating chances, the KT bats are also heating up. Leadoff hitter Chun Sung-ho continues to fly high, and Kang Baek-ho, who made a comeback by wearing a catcher’s mask, is also hot. Rojas is hitting and getting on base, and Moon Sang-cheol, Jang Sung-woo, and Hwang Jae-gyun are also getting opportunities. That’s why the big innings are coming.
As for his hitting ability, he said, “There is no difference from the 2020 season. I hit it farther now. I have a stronger left-handed hit in the middle of the switch. I also hit high balls well. I practice a lot on the side. I also hit shorter balls. 바카라사이트 추천 I think I’ve realized something in my hitting. I’m teaching my teammates how to hit,” he said, giving a thumbs-up.
“I analyze and prepare a lot to see how my opponents face me. If I come out well prepared with data and video, it leads to good results. In camp, there are some things that don’t go well, like the weather. From now on, I can start to build a platform to go up,” he promised.