An ill Johan Rojas missed the first four games at the start of last week’s six-game series in Buffalo.
Since his return, the 25-year-old outfielder has made opposing pitchers feel sick thanks to recent mechanical changes in the box.
Rojas is hitting .381 with 16 hits during a nine-game hitting streak through the IronPigs’ game Saturday against the visiting Durham Bulls. He has four extra-base hits, driven in six runs and scored eight times in that stretch.
“We made some adjustments in Buffalo specifically to improve his timing and flatten out the barrel,” Lehigh Valley manager Anthony Contreras said. “You could see it. He hit a shot [Tuesday] to shortstop that was 109 off the bat.
“Everything is up the middle or the other way. It’s encouraging to see.”
Rojas has added a significant leg kick and opened up his front shoulder to start his swing. It has led to more consistently hard contact and allowed him to spread the ball all over the field.
“We know he has power to the pull side,” Contreras said. “But his ability to spray the ball around the field with authority like he did [Tuesday night] is what you want to see at the top of lineup and if he goes to Philly that’s what he’ll need to do at the bottom to turn the lineup over.”
Rojas was sent down by the Phillies on Aug. 1 after slashing .224/.280/.289/.56 with 40 strikeouts in 71 games. He’s batting .323 in 16 games overall since coming to Triple-A.
He had previous short-term success with Lehigh Valley, slashing .382/.417/.500/.917 in eight games last season, so it’s too early to tell. But the early returns are promising.
Rojas went from Double-A Reading to the majors in 2023, where he slashed .302/.342/.430/.771 in his first 59 games with the Phillies.
Roster moves
RHP Gabe Mosser reinstated from the Development List and made his 13th start this season for the IronPigs on Saturday against Durham. He allowed one run on five hits and two hit batters with five strikeouts in six innings.
RHP Adonis Medina, who allowed one earned run on four hits and four walks in five innings on Thursday’s win, was put on the Development List.
How they scored
Bottom 3: Johan Rojas singled with one out, took second on a throwing error that allowed Donovan Walton to reach base and scored on Otto Kemp’s single. After Gabriel Rincones reached on an infield single, Rafael Lantigua’s sacrifice fly scored Walton. IronPigs 2-0
Top 6: Tanner Murray hit his 14th homer of the year, a solo shot to lead off. IronPigs 2-1
Bottom 6: Oscar Mercado hit a solo homer with one out, his 10th of the season. IronPigs 3-1
Top 8: Cooper Hummel tripled and scored one out later on a wild pitch by Guillo Zuniga. IronPigs 3-2
Top 9: Hunter Stovall reached on an infield single with one out and took second on Kameron Misner’s walk by IronPigs reliever Michael Mercado. With both runners on the move, late-inning replacement Jamie Westbrook singled to left to score Stovall. Misner continued home with Kemp bobbled the ball. Durham was 0 for 7 in the game, 4 for 46 in the series, with runners in scoring position before Westbrook’s hit. Bulls 4-3
Bottom 9: Rojas and Walton singled to put runners on the corners. Kemp hit a sacrifice fly to score Rojas. Tied 4-4
Bottom 10: Ghost runner Lantigua scored when Payton Henry’s bunt was thrown away. IronPigs 6-5
Up next
RHP Alan Rangel (5-3, 4.50) vs. Durham RHP Forrest Whitley (3-2, 1.82) in Sunday’s series finale at 1:35 p.m. from Coca-Cola Park. Rangel allowed two hits and three walks in 3 2/3 scoreless innings in Tuesday’s series opener against the Bulls. He is getting stretched out after a trio of one-inning appearances for the Phillies.
Senior writer Tom Housenick can be reached at thousenick@mcall.com
Source: Berkshire mont