With the Philadelphia Phillies fielding a strong, solid team for the 2023 season, opportunities for prospects to make their MLB debuts with the ballclub this year have been few and far between. Nevertheless, there had been three fortunate rookies that finally got the chance to play in the big leagues for the very first time with the Phillies this year, although probably only one of them have had somewhat of an impact on the ballclub.
Here, we rank the three rookies that made their debuts for the Phillies this season based on the impact they have provided since getting their first taste of the majors.
#3 McKinley Moore
For McKinley Moore, if you blinked your eyes, you might have missed his debut that occurred back in early April when he was called up to replace Yunior Marté, who struggled coming out of the gate. Moore managed to get into three games before he was promptly sent back down to the minors. That was because he produced some sub-par results in his brief stint, as he was roughed up for seven runs on five hits, with five walks and two strikeouts in just 3.1 innings of work for a 18.90 ERA and 3.00 WHIP.
After returning to the minors, Moore would encounter some unfortunate injury woes along the way, wiping out a bulk of his 2023 season. He was just recently activated off the IL on September 5th and will probably finish off the season playing for the Phillies’ Double-A affiliate Reading Fightin Phils.
#2 Weston Wilson
Who could forget the debut Weston Wilson had with the Phillies. After playing 706 games in the minors, he finally got his chance with the Phillies in early August in a game against the Washington Nationals. What happened next became history as Wilson would go on to homer in his first ever major league at-bat. He would end up getting into three more games of action before he was sent back down to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.
However recently, he had been recalled to take the place of Trea Turner, as Turner was placed on the paternity list. So far, Wilson has batted .333 with three runs scored, one home run, one RBI, one stolen base, six walks and one strikeout in 12 plate appearances over five games. He looks to make the most of his opportunities to impress the Phillies, with hopes that he will be able to land at least a bench position with the team in the near future.
#1 Johan Rojas
Johan Rojas has been by far the best rookie to make his debut for the Phillies in 2023. Of the three rookies, only Rojas has managed to stick with the big league team after making his debut in mid-July. That is because he has been the most productive and successful of them all. So far, he has compiled a solid .280 batting average, .717 OPS, along with 14 runs scored, six doubles, one triple, one home run, 18 RBI and nine stolen bases in 42 games played. He will need a little more time to develop better plate discipline as he has struck out 26 times compared to only four walks, but it is expected to come over time.
More importantly, he has provided some stellar defence for the Phillies, something they have been severely lacking for much of the season. He may have been relegated to more pinch-running and defensive replacement duties as of late, but knowing Rojas, he will do his best to help the ballclub in any way he can.
As the Phillies wind down their season and aim to solidify their current playoff position, at least one rookie has earned the team’s trust to remain with the ballclub to help them achieve their goal in making the postseason. That rookie is none other than Johan Rojas.