3 Mariners' hitters going through terrible second-half slumps at the plate

#2. Josh Rojas

71 PA, .190/.282/.317, 12 H, 2 2B, 2 HR, 6 R, 6 RBI, 7 BB, 17 K, 1 HBP

In the first month of the season, Rojas was playing like 1992 Edgar Martinez. He hit to the tune of .938 OPS and performed well enough to take the full-time third base job from Luis Urías who is now with Triple-A Tacoma. Unfortunately, his offense has gradually regressed to his career average, putting him at a .665 OPS and 95 OPS+. His stellar defense has still given him nearly two rWAR but his offense leaves a little to be desired.

Without the natural power of other sluggers on the team like Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez, the hope would be that he would fill the role of a contact hitter akin to Luis Arráez but his .190 average since the All-Star break has shown that to be unlikely. In the second half, he has struggled the most against cutters and sinkers, logging just three hits against those pitches, none for extra bases. Can he return to April Josh Rojas? It remains to be seen but in the event that he does, it would be a huge boost to the Mariners' offense.