Rojas, Kerkering are the Phillies minor league players of the year
Outfielder Johan Rojas and right-handed pitcher Orion Kerkering are the 2023 recipients of the Paul Owens Award, presented annually to the Phillies’ top minor league player and pitcher, respectively.
Rojas slashed .306/.361/.484/.845 with 20 doubles, five triples, nine home runs, 45 RBIs, 56 runs, 24 walks and 30 stolen bases in his 76 games with Double-A Reading before being promoted to the Phillies on July 14. At that time, he led the Eastern League in hits (98), triples and runs and was tied for second in steals, third in extra-base hits and total bases (155) and sixth in average.
“Johan is in the middle of an outstanding season,” said Preston Mattingly, Phillies director of player development. “From the first day of spring training, it was evident that Johan was motivated to show he could impact our major league team. We’re proud of his commitment to preparation and his daily improvement plans. We think Johan is just scratching the surface, and with continued development, will play in Philadelphia for years to come.”
Since making his major league debut July 15, Rojas slashed .301/.344/.439/.783 with nine doubles, one triple, two home runs, 21 RBI, 19 runs and five walks in 52 games entering Thursday.
Defensively, the Dominican Republic native accumulated 14 defensive runs saved in his first 50 games, tied for the 14th most in the majors. He was named the SIS/ Fielding Bible Awards Defensive Player of the month for August after leading all major leaguers with 11 defensive runs saved in the month.
Rojas was signed as an amateur free agent on Jan. 18, 2018.
Kerkering is 4-1 with 14 saves, a 1.51 ERA (9 ER, 53.2 IP) and 0.89 WHIP across 49 relief appearances with Class-A Clearwater and Jersey Shore, Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He has 79 strikeouts and 12 walks (6.58 SO/ BB ratio), has a .186 batting average against and allowed just four home runs to 208 batters.
The 22-year-old is striking out 13.25 batters per nine innings with a 38.0% strikeout rate compared to a 5.8% walk rate. Among minor league pitchers who have thrown at least 50 innings, he has allowed the fewest runs (9), ranks fourth in ERA and is tied for fourth in WHIP.
After being promoted to Reading on July 6, the Huntington Beach, Calif., native was tied for first in the Eastern League in saves with seven. The Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Month in April struck out a career-high five batters on Sept. 13 at Binghamton.
Of Kerkering’s 49 outings, 43 were scoreless. He has not allowed a run in his last nine appearances. The Phillies’ fifth-round pick in 2022 is the franchise’s No. 7 prospect according to MLB.com.
“Orion’s performance speaks for itself,” Mattingly said, “but this award was won in the offseason with hard work. Orion committed to improving all aspects of his game and it led to success and stops at all four affiliates. We are proud of the leader he has become and look forward to the bright future ahead.”
The players will receive their awards on the field on Tuesday prior to the Phillies’ 6:40 p.m. game against the Pirates.