Johan Rojas started in center field for the Philadelphia Phillies in all three of their games against the Atlanta Braves to open the season, going 0-for-8 with two strikeouts and quite a few balls rolled over on to Orlando Arcia at shortstop.
Granted, Rojas did walk once on Opening Day. He was also hit by Atlanta pitcher Chris Sale while trying to lay down a bunt Sunday afternoon. And beating out a ground ball to shortstop that appeared to be a tailor-made double play Sunday proved to be a turning point in the team’s first win of the season, as he eventually scored the game-tying run.
But there’s no question how overmatched Rojas largely looked at the plate in the first weekend of the season was concerning, considering it was a continuation of a disastrous postseason run a year ago that saw him record just four hits in 43 at-bats. While Rojas was working on some adjustments to his offensive approach this spring — including seeing more pitches and getting bunts down — a .170 batting average in 18 Grapefruit League games didn’t alleviate any concerns that he’s not ready to hit consistently in the majors.
Of course, the Phillies were never going to panic and change course on Rojas after one series. For now, the 23-year-old is in the majors, and he’s going to get the bulk of the starts in center field (although he’s out of the lineup Monday evening against the Cincinnati Reds). His manager, Rob Thomson, knows Rojas isn’t a finished product offensively, but was impressed by Rojas’ improved ability to work counts and make an impact on the basepaths during the first weekend of the season.
“He’s battling,” Thomson said of Rojas after Sunday’s game. “[It was] a little bit tougher day today. But he’s battling. For the most part, he’s given us good at-bats. And he’s dynamic. He runs the bases just like that play there, [he] kept that inning alive just because of the speed. So, he’s doing fine for me.”
There does seem to be a genuine belief from his teammates that Rojas is working hard to improve offensively and in the meantime, he provides great value on the occasions he does reach base.
“Whenever that guy’s on the basepaths, he’s definitely a stolen bases threat,” Kyle Schwarber said Sunday. “And that’s definitely in their mind when they’re pitching. The more that he keeps getting at-bats, the more comfortable he gets, you’ll see him get on base more and it’s just going to be a bigger threat for us. And it’s just an added thing that they have to think of.”
Alec Bohm — still a member of “the Daycare” in spirit, but now in his fifth season — offered an interesting veteran perspective on Rojas. Bohm hit immediately at the MLB level in 2020, but struggled mightily in the field, capped off by his “I hate this place” game in April of 2022, which saw him make three errors.
“I’ve been there, everybody’s been there — it’s a hard game,” Bohm said of Rojas Sunday.
Bohm has improved enough defensively that even though some defensive metrics continue to grade him poorly — he had -10 defensive runs saved a year ago — he’s been able to stick at third base.
Rojas is kind of the opposite of early-career Bohm — he’s a tremendous fielder, but one who has questions about whether he’ll be able to hit enough to be an everyday MLB player.
If Rojas can become the offensive version of what Bohm has developed into defensively, his glove and ability as a baserunner are going to allow him to play more than a decade in a he league. But it’s not an overnight process.
“He’s a young kid and he does a tremendous job for us in center field,” Bohm continued. “And the hits are gonna come. He’s only gonna get more comfortable and more experienced. I think he’s put together some decent at-bats. I think it’s only gonna get better. I don’t think it’s anything to really worry about. The more at-bats he gets, the more comfortable he’s gonna get, and you’re gonna see his talent.”
Rojas had 15 defensive runs saved and six outs about average over just 392 innings with the Phillies last season. Forget the Gold Glove, it’s not hyperbolic to think he could win the Platinum Glove as the National League’s best defender if he plays frequently enough to qualify.
But even if Rojas is the No. 9 hitter in a seemingly very deep lineup, the Phillies need more than what they’ve received from him since the start of last postseason. The .302 clip that he hit at across 149 at-bats last postseason wasn’t sustainable, as evidenced by the .402 batting average on balls in play (around .300 is considered to be the league average BABIP.) But he can’t hit .130, either. There has to be a medium between the two extremes.
The Phillies believe that medium is going to come.
