Matt Rose flourished last year batting fifth at Georgia State, protected by Chase Raffield and Nic Wilson.
Rose hit .312 with 11 home runs and 34 RBIs. As someone who likes routine, some wondered how Rose would perform this year with change.
Gone are Raffield and Wilson, both drafted by Major League Baseball teams. Rose was moved from fifth in the lineup to fourth, where he’s hit most of this year, and, other than a recent slump, the change hasn’t bothered him.
Rose is batting .304 with a Sun Belt-best 42 RBIs. He is tied for second in Division I with 15 home runs after bashing another one against Kennesaw State on Wednesday. Just three active players have more career homers than Rose’s 30.
“I’ve put up good numbers want to keep putting them up,” the junior said.
Rose is eighth in school history for home runs, but may not get a chance past this season to set the record. He is projected to be selected in the top 10 rounds of June’s amateur draft. Rose said he hasn’t thought much about the future because it’s not something he can control.
He is valued because of his ability to hit, as well as his versatility as a third baseman, first baseman and pitcher.
“When teams come in to play us you have to account for Matt Rose,” Georgia State coach Greg Frady said before offering the scouting report Rose usually experiences. “’Don’t throw him pitches he can hit. Throw pitches around the zone, and we will take our chances with some of the other guys.’”
Rose’s power comes from the tremendous leverage he brings because of his natural talent, hand-eye coordination and his 6-foot-4 frame. Frady said Rose hits down on the ball, which creates backspin and carry. Frady and Rose compare his swing to Tampa’s Evan Longoria.
Rose hasn’t been the only power in Georgia State’s lineup this year.
Just as Rose had Raffield and Wilson last year, this year he, Ryan Blanton (now injured) and Joey Roach are the spark in Georgia State’s offense.
The difference is Rose isn’t the guy who must be pitched to this year because the bases are already occupied.
“There’s a little bit of pressure, but there are good guys here,” he said.
The pressure manifests itself in strikeouts. Rose has a team-high 38 this year, including 11 in his last 31 at bats. He said recent strikeouts have happened because he’s swinging at pitches outside the strike zone, reinforcing Frady’s scouting report to throw pitches near, but not on top of, home plate.
To help him relax his approach, Frady often shares a quote by former Brave Chipper Jones that stresses that patience will make the pitchers have to adjust to him.
“I hate striking out,” he said. “Especially when it’s on me swinging at pitches out of the zone.”
After sitting atop the Sun Belt for most of the year, the Panthers (28-20, 14-8) are in second behind South Alabama with a three-game series at Troy starting Friday and a three-game series against Georgia Southern next week. The slight descent has mostly coincided with Blanton’s hand injury and Rose’s slump. But the Panthers have won two out of their last three and Rose said he feels the team is finding its rhythm again.
Rose will be key to the Panthers finishing strong, earning a high seed for the conference tournament and perhaps securing a berth in an NCAA regional.
“(We have to) Trust the process, not every day will be perfect,” he said. “The next day is a brand new day.”
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