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Atlanta Braves Scouting Report on OF Mel Rojas, Jr.

By Benjamin Chase

May 23, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; New York Mets second baseman Neil Walker (20) prepares his bat while in the on deck circle in the first inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
May 23, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; New York Mets second baseman Neil Walker (20) prepares his bat while in the on deck circle in the first inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Future Outlook

Rojas has a solid ability to hit and steal bases along with a good build and some ability to take a walk as well. That was hard to find a comp for, especially as Rojas enters his age 27 season still awaiting his major league debut. To find a guy like that who toiled in the minors for a while is a tough guy to match.

However, I was then discussing the Twins teams of my college years with a college friend and we started recalling their outfielders of that era that seemed to come up late and make an impact for a year or two – Lew Ford, Dustan Mohr, and the guy I went with, Bobby Kielty. Kielty was a guy who I always thought looked like he would have made a good football safety in his build.

He had decent power and decent speed and was even a decent defender, but Kielty still took until he was 26 to get a full-time job in the big leagues. Kielty had better pitch recognition skills, but otherwise, the two have very similar physical and baseball profiles. Rojas really just needs to get the chance to do it at the big league level and run with that chance the way he ran with his time in Gwinnett.

Next: Braves Minor League Database

Rojas is a bit of a question mark for the 2016-2017 offseason. He’s going to be a minor league free agent this offseason, but last year, the Braves retained a number of their minor league free agents, so that’s not a given that he’ll leave the organization. Rojas really does need to make his major league splash this year if he’s going to make it, though, as he’s in his age 27 season, and time is of the essence.

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