The term “generational” is overused in sports talk. But it increasingly feels applicable when talking about Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Johan Rojas‘ defensive prowess.
Rojas robbed Cincinnati Reds left fielder Spencer Steer of extra bases in the fourth inning of Tuesday evening’s Phillies loss at Great American Ballpark. Though he initially appeared banged up, the 23-year-old ultimately remained in the game.
The Phillies have had a lot of tremendous defenders over the last 20 years, including Jimmy Rollins, Carlos Ruiz, Shane Victorino and Pedro Feliz. Without taking away any credit from that quartet, Rojas appears to be in an even higher stratosphere defensively, one with Garry Maddox, Scott Rolen, Mike Schmidt and the inner circle of defenders to ever suit up for the Phillies. (No one is suggesting he’s an equal player overall.)
Through the first 558 regular-season innings of his MLB career, Rojas has 18 defensive runs saved and eight outs above average in center field. He combines elite instincts with tremendous athleticism that allow him to make up ground in the rare cases that he doesn’t get a good read on a ball. What makes watching Rojas play center field so enjoyable is that he has a Ranger Suárez-esque calmness when retreating to make a catch, giving you the feeling that what he’s doing really isn’t that hard, even if it definitely is.
Should Rojas’ bat allows him to stay in the field for enough innings to qualify, he’ll likely run away with the center field Gold Glove Award in the National League. Nolan Arenado and Ke’Bryan Hayes are among those who will have something to say about it, but there’s no reason that Rojas couldn’t win a Platinum Glove as the best overall defender in the senior circuit.
If you ever feel like you’re being hyperbolic in describing Rojas as a defender, don’t. He’s really that good.
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