Johan Rojas
One of the Phillies’ most fascinating prospects, Johan Rojas made his major league debut with the ballclub in 2023 and never looked back.
Called up just after the All-Star break, Rojas went on to suit up for 59 games for the Phillies, hitting a solid .302 with a .771 OPS, 24 runs scored, nine doubles, two triples, two home runs, 23 RBI, and 14 stolen bases. However, one worrisome aspect of his game was the fact that his strikeout-to-walk ratio was greater than 8:1, so he certainly needs to work on his approach and discipline at the plate in the long run.
On the other hand, Rojas provided some much-needed defensive stability in the outfield for the Phillies. Not only did he make all the routine plays, but he recorded some of the highlight-reel variety to bring massive joy to the Phillies’ fans. Overall, Rojas posted an impressive 15 DRS to lead the team by a mile despite joining the ballclub for just the second half of the season. Indeed, there was no doubt his glove was MLB-ready already.
Unfortunately, Rojas was exposed more during the Phillies’ postseason run. His defense remained elite; however, his inexperience at the plate showed. In 13 games, he amassed only four hits in 43 at-bats for a .093 batting average, along with 15 strikeouts. He actually became more of a liability for the team than his defense could make up for.
As a result, with Rojas’ game still in the raw stage, he may still need some growth and development with his bat. Even Dave Dombrowski touched on the subject of Rojas’ uncertainty in a recent Phillies presser, stating, "Our positional players, our infield is basically set … Outfield, we have a little bit of a question just because of a young player that was trying to create some playing time."
So Rojas will need to prove to the team next spring that he belongs with the big league club by showing that he can make the necessary adjustments in his approach at the plate to be successful.