The Philadelphia Phillies have the next elite defender that the typical baseball fan doesn’t know about. Johan Rojas has captured the hearts of Philly fans and could soon secure an everyday spot as the playoffs approach. Originally brought up to plug up a roster dealing with injuries, he could now be their starting center fielder come postseason time.

Rojas has impressed his veteran teammates, with Castellanos saying he's a great teammate who does a strong job of handling the toughest defensive spot in the outfield, according to Matt Gelb of The Athletic.

“He plays like he deserves to be here,” Castellanos said, via The Athletic. “He definitely commands the outfield — not like a rookie. He’s a great teammate. He’s energetic. Honestly, even if I wanted to think of something negative to bring up or something that he needs to work on, really, everything is fantastic. So now it’s just a matter of holding that foundation and continuing to get experience.”

Rojas, a 23-year-old who was called up from Double-A in July, has been nothing short of sensational in the field. He ranks 14th on FanGraphs' leaderboard for defensive runs saved despite playing only 319 innings so far this season. It's by far the lowest innings total of any of the 28 players to reach double digits in that stat so far, with the next closest being Daulton Varsho's 444.1 innings. Rojas has tremendous range, a strong arm and great hand-eye coordination.

Johan Rojas has been pretty solid at the plate, too, slashing .300/.344/.442 with 36 hits and 21 RBI in 133 plate appearances. The righty hitter fares better against left-handed pitching but against righties, his production doesn’t drop off all that far. He doesn’t walk or hit for much power — he just hit his first home run off of a real pitcher in Philly's current series against the Atlanta Braves — but is adept at finding a way to get a hit and is one of the Phillies' fastest players.

Despite his unreal defensive prowess, Phillies manager Rob Thomson has used a platoon of outfielders for the back of the lineup. Jake Cave and Christian Pache have been used in a platoon for the final outfield spot alongside Brandon Marsh and Nick Castellanos. Kyle Schwarber's trips to the outfield will be done by the time the playoffs, as his hitting is spectacular but his defense is anything but. This leaves a spot up for grabs in the defending NL champs' outfield.

When comparing all three of the outfield options, Cave's only redeeming qualities are that he hits lefty and can play first base, giving the Phillies the option to rest Bryce Harper while keeping Alec Bohm in the lineup. The case between Rojas and Pache is similar: both players are strong defenders but lack a history of being excellent at the plate.

Johan Rojas has the edge, though, of being one of the absolute best defenders in MLB since being called up. Thomson said his at-bats are “really growing on me” and everything his teammates say about him suggests that he's ready for the bright lights.

“I feel like just as a fan of defense, it’s a joy just to watch him play let alone be on the same squad as him,” Marsh said, via The Athletic. “That dude goes and gets it with the best of them. It’s super impressive. At a young age, too. The dude’s 22 years old, playing like he’s a 10-year vet out there. So it’s awesome.”