Blue Jays Nation’s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 25: Kendry Rojas

Feb 5, 2024, 06:00 ESTUpdated: Feb 5, 2024, 08:40 EST

Who doesn’t like left-handed starting pitching?

This is Blue Jays Nation’s annual pre-season list, in which I’ll take a look at the top 50 prospects in the organization. We’ll look at the player’s stats, my observations, and other publications’ scouting reports if available.

Let’s take a look at Kendry Rojas

Getting to know Kendry Rojas…

Position: Starting Pitcher

Throws: Left

Born: November 26, 2002

Acquired: 2020 International Free Agency

2023 Team: Single-A Dunedin

Previous Ranking: 30

Rojas burst onto the scene in 2021 when he had a 2.28 ERA and a 2.04 FIP in 23.2 innings pitched with the Florida Complex League Blue Jays. On top of the low ERA and FIP, Rojas had an incredible 44.8 K% and a 5.7 BB%.

The left-handed pitcher moved to Single-A in 2022, and posted a 4.08 ERA and a 3.19 FIP in 39.2 innings pitched. However, his K% dropped to 24.7%, and his BB% increased to 10.9%. Rojas also missed a portion of the season injured, leaving him to pitch just 40.2 innings.

However, the Cuban-native made a name for himself in 2023 with the Dunedin Blue Jays, posting a 3.75 ERA and a 4.34 FIP in 84 innings pitched. His K% of 23.4% was a slight drop off from the season previous, but his BB% declined to 9.4%.

Ryley Delaney

@Ryley__Delaney

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Here's Kendry Rojas (@Kendry_rojas13)'s strikeout thread from this evening. 85.9 mph changeup, pretty darn nasty pitch here. #BlueJays #NextLevel

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11:33 PM · Jun 9, 2023

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Rojas ranks on all three published lists so far, and quite a bit higher than where I have him ranked. Fangraphs has him ranked 11th-overall and note that he has a low-90s fastball with a changeup and slider, which is his best pitch. They even note that Rojas could join their Top 100 list, especially if he ticks up in velocity.

Scott Mitchell ranks Rojas 10th-overall on his Top 50 list, noting that his fastball is sitting 93-94 mph and allows the other two pitches to play up. Mitchell notes that the 2024 season could see Rojas hitting the 100 inning marker. Furthermore, Rojas ranks as Baseball America’s sixth-best Blue Jays prospect.

The 2024 season will likely see Rojas get a promotion to High-A Vancouver. It’ll be interesting to see how the left-handed pitcher fairs against older batters, but the stuff is there to be a pretty solid starter if all goes well.