When a young player is sent down to Triple-A from the majors, they are generally given a reason why the move is being made. Sometimes, it’s simply because a player is coming off the IL, or it may be to get more at-bats, or to work on something specific about their game.

In the case of Johan Rojas, it was for all three reasons. Trea Turner returned from the IL, meaning Rojas will be in the lineup everyday with Lehigh Valley, and the Phillies want him to improve his ability to get on base via the bunt.

Rojas was batting just .235 with the Phillies, and his inability to get on base was taking away the biggest weapon he has – his speed. Even with the low average and exceedingly low .271 on-base percentage, Rojas has stolen 14 bases, but his speed puts him in a class of player that should be stealing many more bases.

Rojas is going through drills every day to improve his ability to drop down bunts. One is to have two buckets placed where a ball bunted by Rojas is most likely to result in a hit because of his speed. Roving outfield instructor Andy Abad is also working with Rojas on situational bunting to make him better at moving a runner with a sacrifice bunt.

Rojas has taken the added work to heart, and last Thursday dropped a perfect bunt between the pitcher and third base line that resulted in a hit and a 4-for-4 night for the 23-year-old outfielder.

The demotion does not mean that Rojas is out of the Phillies plans for the future. In fact, the opposite is true. After all, Rojas is still just 23 years old, and has also never played at the Triple-A level prior to now.

The Phillies brought him directly to the majors from Double-A Reading, so he missed some prime development time at Triple-A, which means that he missed added work against pitchers who are either very close to the majors or have spent some time there.

Now is the chance for Rojas to get that work and return to the majors with a better tool belt for success.

STARTING FROM ZERO

… Sunday marked the end of the first half of the International League season. When MLB took over running the minors, it changed to a split season schedule for a couple of reasons.

1. Money – Let’s face it, fans are more likely to show up if their team is in a “pennant race.” By resetting the team records, the fact that your hometown team finished last – or in the case of the IronPigs (34-39), second last – means nothing in the second half because they may magically become the best team in the league over the rest of the season.

2. And this may be a stretch, but teams change over the course of a minor league season because of players being promoted and demoted, so a team that has a lot of talent early on may lose that talent to the major league team and suddenly be an average team.

In the split season schedule, the best team in the league at the end of the first half is declared the first-half champion. At the end of the season, they play the team with the best record in the second half to determine the International League champion. Divisions don’t matter. Omaha, the top team in the IL West in the first half, will play for the league championship at the end of the season, while a very good Scranton team that finished 46-28 gets nothing for their first-half effort and needs to not just win the IL East (again), but have the best record in the league over the final 75 games. If Omaha is the best team again, they would then face the team with the second-best record in the second half.

HONORING A FORMER BOSS HOGG

… IronPigs managers have a sign outside their office designating that the office belongs to Boss Hogg. It’s just another little pig reference that has been squeezed into IronPigs lore. One of the men who occupied that office is Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg. The Cubs honored Sandberg by unveiling a statue of him outside Wrigley Field on Sunday, making him the fifth former Cub to be so honored. The unveiling came on the 40th anniversary of “The Sandberg Game” when Sandberg homered off Bruce Sutter of the Cardinals in the bottom of the ninth to tie a game that the Cubs had trailed 9-3. In the top of the 10th, St. Louis scored two runs, and in the bottom of the inning, Sandberg hit a two-run home run against Sutter to again tie the game that the Cubs would go on to win. The Cubs went on to become NL East champions, and Sandberg went on to win the MVP award.

WRONG KIND OF HITS

… David Parkinson found himself unable to throw strikes Sunday against Norfolk. He plunked top prospect Heston Kjerstad in the first inning, and the next inning, hit Shayne Fontana. Norfolk put together a six-run third inning with Kjerstad getting hit to load the bases, and later in the inning was hit again to make it three plate appearances in a row that Kjerstad was hit by a pitch as all three came on the first pitch of the at-bat.

After No. 3, Kjerstad was understandably upset and exchanged words with both Parkinson and the home plate umpire on his way toward first base, but never moved toward Parkinson. Apparently, he said the wrong words and was ejected from the game. Kjerstad got the last laugh when he was called up to the Orioles on Monday.