Philadelphia Phillies Youngster Credits Superstar For His Offensive Surge

After getting off to a concerning start, the Philadelphia Phillies young center fielder has turned things around with the help of a superstar teammate.

Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Johan Rojas (18) celebrates after hitting a triple / Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY

The Philadelphia Phillies had some concerns about the viability of keeping their young center fielder, Johan Rojas, in their lineup on a consistent basis.

Because his defense is so elite, he was always going to be in the mix for a starting job, but if they couldn't rely on him to do anything offensively, that would hurt the Phillies' overall profile.

That was the case early on as Rojas began his season 1-22 before a three-hit effort against the St. Louis Cardinals sparked a bit of his turnaround that is fully on display now.

Prior to his 0-4 night in the finale against the Cincinnati Reds, he recorded a hit in six straight games and now sits with a slash line of .250/.311/.309.

The 23-year-old is crediting two prominent people within the organization for helping him get things straightened out after his tough start.

"First of all, I want to say that I am thankful for the opportunity. I also want to thank K Long [hitting coach Kevin Long] and Trea Turner, especially, for these adjustments. Trea and I talked about a couple things. I looked better as soon as we talked. I've felt better as well," he said according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com.

It's extremely telling that someone like Trea Turner, who is a two-time All-Star, would help out Rojas. This team is clearly all in on winning and they have a great culture in place that allows young players to be mentored by the established veterans.

Rojas is certainly thankful.

"For a star player such as Trea Turner to take his time to talk to me and help me, I feel really grateful for that," he said.

The center fielder went into a bit more detail about what he and the shortstop go over on film and in the batting cage. Based on the feedback, it sounds like it's resonating with Rojas and has allowed him to find his groove at the plate.

That is a great sign for the youngster as this added element would make him potentially one of the best players at his position in all of baseball.