The path to achieving sustainable success at the big league level can often take longer than expected for many top prospects in the humbling game that is MLB.
Philadelphia Phillies fans have seen this struggle play out before with former top prospect Scott Kingery. Kingery, who burst on the scene with a solid debut performance in 2019, signed a lucrative deal six-year, $24 million deal to be part of the team's long-term future. Yet he found himself buried at the Triple-A level for the balance of five seasons, with no clear path back to the big leagues ever presenting itself.
While Kingery's struggles were reportedly self-inflicted at times during his Phillies career, it goes beyond saying that mastering the psychological parts of playing in a place like Philadelphia and compartmentalizing what's being said about you in the media is easier said than done. But as we've witnessed over the last two seasons with the emergence of starter Cristopher Sánchez from spot-starter to dark horse Cy Young candidate, sometimes an unexpected breakthrough can come out of nowhere if a player is willing to put in the necessary work to improve.
That said, Johan Rojas is another former Phillies top prospect who is looking to shed the late-bloomer tag and carve out a permanent role for this team going forward. Rojas' Gold Glove-caliber defense has afforded him regular playing time over the last two seasons, but his offensive production and fundamental understanding of the game had left a lot to be desired.
That's why the seemingly new and improved version of Rojas we've seen recently — before his embarrassing gaffe in the outfield on Tuesday in Atlanta — earned him some high praise from Phillies manager Rob Thomson.
How much should Phillies fans buy into Johan Rojas this year after early praise from Rob Thomson?
There was a time in the offseason when many early roster projections had Rojas looking like the odd man out in the outfield mix, especially after the Phillies signed Max Kepler to be the everyday left fielder. Kepler's addition shifted Brandon Marsh over to center.
Rojas' only chance to make the Opening Day roster came down to a spring training battle with Weston Wilson to be named the team's fourth outfielder. But after Wilson was sidelined with an oblique injury early in camp, Rojas managed to win the role with a solid spring training that saw him hit .292 and knock out 14 hits in 48 at-bats.
That success has certainly carried over to the 2025 regular season, as Rojas is currently hitting .444 with four hits and a walk in eight at-bats. While those numbers won't exactly quiet the skeptics after nine at-bats, it's the little things that don't show up in the box score that has his manager excited this season.
Thomson was full of praise when speaking to the media about Rojas' breakout performance following a 5-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies last week, per On Pattison's Anthony SanFilippo.
"This was the best major league game he's played in my opinion because that's exactly what he needs to do," said Thomson, per SanFilippo. "He needs to move runners, put the ball in play, sacrifice and play good defense."
The biggest revelation from Rojas' 2-for-4 showing against the Rockies was his newfound ability to lay down a successful bunt. In addition to Rojas' noted struggles at the plate over the last couple of seasons, his inability to drop down a bunt and help base runners advance has been a glaring weakness, especially as a bottom of the lineup hitter with limited power. While Rojas's fifth inning bunt single didn't lead to the Phillies scoring a run, the fact that Rojas' fundamentals have improved this season is a very encouraging sign of things to come.
“[He needs] to just do it. Because I know in the minor leagues, he’s gotten many bunt hits. It’s not just getting the bunt hits, it’s moving runners over and sacrificing. It just helps his whole game.”
— Alex Coffey (@byalexcoffey) February 21, 2024
How Johan Rojas is working on improving his bunting: https://t.co/YNK3PVmy5J pic.twitter.com/t4vp8wFeBT
Will Johan Rojas continue getting chances in Phillies' new lineup?
Even more encouraging is Rojas' role in Thomson's new-look lineup against left-handed pitching this season. While more notable for Trea Turner leading off and Kyle Schwarber being moved into the cleanup spot, the addition of Rojas and Edmundo Sosa as right-handed hitters in the eighth and ninth spots has already shown promising results. It's even more notable that on a day when left-handed bats Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh took a seat against Rockies southpaw Kyle Freeland that Rojas and Sosa combined to go 5-for-6, with a walk, a run scored, a sacrifice and two RBIs.
That being said, Rojas was less impressive during his latest start against the Atlanta Braves when he went 0-for-3 in a brutal 7-5 loss. While Rojas' bat went cold against Braves starter Chris Sale, it was a miscommunication with Sosa on a routine play in the second inning that doomed the Phillies. Neither player attempted to track down an Austin Riley fly ball, letting the ball drop in for a double.
As the center fielder, Rojas should have handled the fly ball, but the unfortunate miscue set the stage for Sean Murphy to come to the plate and blast a three-run home run and give the Braves an early 3-1 lead.
While Rojas' performance on Tuesday didn't match his effort against the Rockies last week, there's little reason to believe that Thomson will abandon his alternate lineup just yet. But after seeing glimpses of what a fundamentally improved Rojas can do at the bottom of the order, it stands to reason that Rojas will get another start the next time the Phillies face left-handed pitching.