The Johan Rojas Experience is never boring.
There’s the glove — Gold Glove caliber, even if the trophy case is still waiting. There’s the speed — the kind that turns doubles into triples and makes outfield walls hold their breath. And then… there’s everything else.
Base-running adventures? Check. Mental lapses? Yep. And now, a bat that’s suddenly making noise — leaving everybody asking the question of the month in Phillies-land: Is this real, or is it just a mirage rolling in from center field?
Through Tuesday, Rojas was batting .302, with a homer, 10 RBIs, and a .756 OPS. Not bad for a guy still parked in the nine-hole. Not bad at all for a player who, just a few weeks ago, was looking more like a glove-first stopgap than a lineup fixture.
But then came Friday night. Rojas was on the bench as the Phillies opened their series against the Diamondbacks. Cal Stevenson — freshly up from Lehigh Valley — was in center. Manager Rob Thomson called it “just a day off” for Rojas, maybe even two. A little rest. A little “general body soreness.” And maybe a little cool-down after a ninth-inning rollercoaster the night before.
That play? Rojas smoked a ball into the gap, cruised into second… and then decided: why stop? He tore for third, somehow beat the tag, and stood there grinning atop a triple. Thrilling? Absolutely. Smart? Well, let’s just say the Phillies were down two runs with two outs in the ninth, and third base coach Dusty Wathan was gently — or maybe not so gently — explaining why it might not have been the moment for a jailbreak sprint.
To his credit, Rojas took the lesson. And to his credit again, when he came in later as a defensive replacement, he showed why he’s impossible to ignore — saving a 3-2 win with a leaping catch at the center-field wall that had Citizens Bank Park holding its breath.
If this all sounds familiar, well, it should. Phillies fans of a certain age can’t help but hear the faint echoes of Odúbel Herrera — the electric talent, the hot streaks, the moments when it all seemed to click… until it didn’t. For Herrera, the story became one of squandered potential, of defensive gaffes and base-running blunders that never quite went away. (Not to mention the off-field issues — but that’s not part of this comparison.)
Which brings us to Rojas, right now.
With Brandon Marsh working his way back and the outfield picture murky, this is Rojas’ moment to prove he’s more than a flash, more than a glove, more than a hot month. Every opportunity matters. Every at-bat, every route in center, every time he resists the temptation to turn a double into an unnecessary triple — all of it counts.
Is this the start of something permanent? That’s the story Rojas is writing now. And as anyone watching can tell you — it’s one you can’t take your eyes off.
