ST. PETERSBURG -- It’s probably not as easy as Jonathan Aranda makes it sound.
Aranda has proven over the past two seasons that he’s a talented, balanced hitter in any situation. Tampa Bay’s first baseman has followed up his All-Star turn last year by slashing .286/.384/.476 in the Rays’ first 53 games this season.
But he has been even better in big situations. He entered Thursday with 41 RBIs, most in the American League and sixth-most in the Majors, and he’s hitting .356 with runners in scoring position.
So, for him, maybe it is as simple as the way he explained it Wednesday afternoon in Baltimore.
“It's those moments that are really the ones that matter. You never know in tight-game situations if that one run is going to be the difference-maker,” Aranda said through interpreter Kevin Vera. “Not necessarily that other at-bats don't matter, but in that moment I'm kind of telling myself, 'OK, it's the big moment, so time to come through.'”
His run production has been remarkably consistent, too. There has only been one stretch this season where he’s gone three consecutive games without an RBI: a four-game run from May 6-10, which he ended emphatically by driving in three runs on May 11 in Toronto.
“It feels great. I'm not necessarily looking to be the No. 1 guy, but I've just been able to come through in the right situations,” Aranda said. “The biggest thing is I'm just trying to help my team, so I've been lucky to do that.”
It feels fitting that Aranda is quietly leading the AL in RBIs. As good as he’s been at the plate, he does not draw much attention to himself. The 28-year-old does not have the prominent profile of teammate Junior Caminero or the bulging biceps of Yandy Díaz, and he plays for a small-market team that hasn’t been to the postseason the past two years.
He’ll celebrate his big hits, sure, shouting toward the Rays’ dugout to fire up his teammates as his hair bounces out of his helmet. But he prefers to go about his business with even-keeled assurance, an aura of calmness that some teammates and coaches believe might work to his benefit in clutch situations.
“I think he carries a quiet confidence every day to the ballpark. He does speak, and he gets super pumped up and amped when he's doing something to help the team,” manager Kevin Cash said. “And he's certainly helped our team a lot this season, definitely in the clutch with guys on base.
“You feed off whatever personality you carry. Some guys get super amped up, and that benefits them. And Jonny's probably the opposite, where it does seem like he's got a lot of confidence and he does it very calmly. … But he has such a solid, consistent approach that allows him to handle some tough situations.”
Added starter Steven Matz: “Everything just looks so effortless to me. It looks like he barely swings, and then you look at the scoreboard [and] it's 106 in the gap. He's just so calm. I think that really speaks to him driving runs in. The moment's never too big for him.”
That was true even when Aranda didn’t feel like he was at his best during the first month of the season. In his first 30 games, he had more RBIs (25) than hits (24). But he wasn’t completely happy with the rest of his numbers, including a .220 average with 33 strikeouts in March and April.
“I kind of had to take a step back and look at myself, look in the mirror, and see what I had to adjust,” he said.
So, Aranda worked on his swing, making it shorter and more direct to the ball. He recognized that he was getting sped up by fastballs, so he stopped worrying about pulling the ball and got back to an approach more concentrated on the middle of the field.
It’s hard to argue with the results. This month, he’s slashing .375/.454/.513 with 16 RBIs and only 21 strikeouts in 23 games, ranking first among qualified hitters in batting average and on-base percentage and eighth in OPS.
Is it as easy as Aranda makes it sound? No. But when he’s on a tear like this, he makes it look pretty easy, too.
“He goes about his business. He understands who he is as a player,” starter Nick Martinez said. “When he gets his opportunity, he doesn’t miss.”