The Los Angeles Dodgers played their first game of roughly six to eight weeks without Mookie Betts on Monday. And the offense seemed quite good, hanging nine runs in their series opener in Colorado and backing an excellent performance from James Paxton.
Despite a game in which Freddie Freeman walked five times, perhaps the most notable part of the offensive outburst was the production of Betts' replacement at the six: Miguel Rojas.
The veteran infielder went 3-for-5 in the win, contributing a double, a RBI, and a pair of runs to the cause. Rojas hit out of the seventh spot in the lineup, which is something that we can likely expect to continue. Almost 90 percent of his plate appearances this year have come out of the bottom-third of the lineup.
Rojas has appeared only intermittently for the Dodgers this season, being deployed as something of a utility infielder. He's appeared at 94 innings at second, 54 at third, and 132 at shortstop. Rojas has already been declared the starter in Betts' stead, and there's great potential for the Dodgers to stave off any kind of drop off if he continues to perform anywhere near the level at which he's currently performing.
We noted recently that it could behoove the Dodgers to give a little more run to Rojas, especially given some of the scuffling they were experiencing on offense. To date, he's slashing .292/.339/.460/.799 across 121 PAs. He's also ISO'ing .168, with occasional speed (three SB) to supplement his occasional power.
When you isolate Rojas' performance as a shortstop, though, the numbers become even more gaudy. In 50 PAs specifically as a shortstop, Rojas' slash includes a .404 average and .440 OBP. He also features a .277 ISO. So while he's been good overall with the stick thus far, he's been unbelievable when assuming a familiar role at the six.
Not that we can expect such a torrid pace to continue. Nevertheless, it is at least encouraging for the Los Angeles lineup that Rojas is someone capable of producing at a steady rate. When you're looking for something to soften the blow of two months without a superstar, that'll at least help to compensate some.