Blue Jays Nation’s Mid-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 7: Kendry Rojas

Sep 21, 2024, 07:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 21, 2024, 06:11 EDT

The Toronto Blue Jays have a young left-handed pitcher to keep an eye on.

This is Blue Jays Nation’s annual Mid-Season top prospect list, where we’ll look at the 35 best prospects in the Blue Jays system. We’ll look at the player’s stats, my observations, and other publication’s scouting reports if available.

Let’s take a look at our seventh-best prospect, Kendry Rojas!

Getting to know Kendry Rojas…

Position: Starting pitcher

Throws: Left

Born: November 26, 2002

Acquired: 2020 International Free Agency

Previous ranking: 25

The Blue Jays signed Kendry Rojas to a bonus of $215,000 during the 2020 international free agency. Unlike most players that sign this way, the Jays sent him to the Florida Complex League instead of the Dominican Summer League to begin his professional career. There, he posted 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%.

Rojas mainly pitched in Single-A in 2022, pitching just 39.2 innings pitched with a 4.09 ERA and a 3.19 FIP, along with a 23.4 K% and a 9.4 BB%. Sadly, he missed a large chunk of the season due to injury. In 2023, he repeated the level, and posted a 3.75 ERA and a 4.34 FIP in 84 innings pitched, along with a 17.6 K% and a 5.9 BB%.

However, Rojas truly broke out in 2024, as he posted a 2.43 ERA and a 3.02 FIP in 55.2 innings pitched with the Vancouver Canadians this past season. Moreover, his K% increased to 27% while his BB% was a career-best 5.3%.

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Kendry Rojas, the @BlueJays' No. 12 prospect, lowers his ERA to 2.43 with a strong start for @vancanadians: 6 IP 1 H 1 R 0 BB 6 K

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9:52 PM · Sep 6, 2024

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Rojas was terrific from July 26 to the end of the season, allowing just 10 earned runs in 42.1 innings pitched (2.13 ERA), with five of those runs coming in one game. Moreover, he threw six games with two runs or less in that span, along with a 28.5 K% and a 4.2 BB%.

The left-handed pitcher ranked as MLB Pipeline’s 12th-best prospect in MLB Pipeline’s mid-season update. He has a three-pitch mix, a fastball, a changeup, and a slider. The fastball sits 92-93 mph but he has the frame to add some more velocity. Moreover, the slider is arguably his best pitch, while the changeup is a weapon against right-handed batters.