Blue Jays Nation’s Mid-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 30: Kendry Rojas
3 months ago
Season after season, this left-handed pitcher continues to make a good impression.
Just a quick recap of the mid-season list: We’ll look at the player’s stats, my observations, and finally other publications (Prospects Live, MLB Pipeline, Baseball America)’ scouting reports.
We’ll be looking at left-handed starter Kendry Rojas in this article.
Getting to know Kendry Rojas…
Position: Starting Pitcher
Throws: Left
Born: November 26, 2002
Acquired: 2020 International Free Agency
Current Team: Single-A Dunedin
Previous Ranking: 32
Since he started pitching for the Blue Jays in 2021, the 20-year-old left-handed pitcher has been one of the most consistent pitchers in the lower minors for the Blue Jays. In his debut season in 2021, Rojas pitched for the FCL Blue Jays, posting a 2.28 ERA and a 2.04 FIP in 23.2 innings pitched, along with a 44.8 K% and a 5.7 BB%.
In 2022 with the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays, he had a 4.08 ERA and a 3.19 FIP in 39.2 innings pitched, along with a 24.7 K% and a 10.9 BB%, the highest in his career. He missed much of the 2022 season due to an injury.
This season, he repeated the Single-A level and has posted a 3.75 ERA and a 4.55 FIP in 69.2 innings pitched. His K% dropped a bit to 23.1%, but his BB% of 8.8% has returned to a good level. As the season has worn on, the 20-year-old has struggled a bit. For instance, in two starts on July 26th and August 3rd, he gave up nine earned runs in just 5.2 innings pitched. These two outings especially have bumped his ERA and FIP up quite a bit.
Rojas has some nasty stuff. His fastball was sitting 92-94 mph and touched 97 mph early in the season according to MLB Pipeline. This is up drastically from his 89-91 mph in 2022. Not just that, but his secondaries (slider and changeup) are both pretty nasty, as the slider has a ton of sweep that generates swings and misses. As for the changeup, it’s graded as his worst pitch, but it has some nice arm-side fade and is a pitch that can certainly improve.
It’s also worth noting that the 6’2,190 lbs Rojas has solid command of his pitches, which is usually what comes last for a pitcher his age. Due to injury, he’s had to repeat the Single-A However, it wouldn’t be too surprising if he finds his way to High-A Vancouver by the end of the season.
Rojas is a pitcher to keep an eye on over the next few years as the stuff is great, but the velocity increase is even more exciting.
Next up…
In the next article, we’ll have the last 2020 draftee on the list.
In case you missed it…
- Blue Jays Nation’s Mid-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 50: Garrett Spain
- Blue Jays Nation’s Mid-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 49: Connor Cooke
- Blue Jays Nation’s Mid-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 48: Michael Dominguez
- Blue Jays Nation’s Mid-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 47: Alejandro Melean
- Blue Jays Nation’s Mid-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 46: Trenton Wallace
- Blue Jays Nation’s Mid-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 45: Brennan Orf
- Blue Jays Nation’s Mid-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 44: Robert Robertis
- Blue Jays Nation’s Mid-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 43: Sam Shaw
- Blue Jays Nation’s Mid-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 42: Rafael Lantigua
- Blue Jays Nation’s Mid-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 41: Yhoangel Aponte
- Blue Jays Nation’s Mid-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 40: Nick Goodwin
- Blue Jays Nation’s Mid-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 39: Irv Carter
- Blue Jays Nation’s Mid-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 38: Jimmy Robbins
- Blue Jays Nation’s Mid-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 37: Otto López
- Blue Jays Nation’s Mid-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 36: Peyton Williams
- Blue Jays Nation’s Mid-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 35: Trent Palmer
- Blue Jays Nation’s Mid-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 34: C.J. Van Eyk
- Blue Jays Nation’s Mid-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 33: Dasan Brown
- Blue Jays Nation’s Mid-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 32: Tanner Morris
- Blue Jays Nation’s Mid-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 31: Connor O’Halloran
As always, you can follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Threads @Brennan_L_D.
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