A Giants fan living in San Diego, been playing fantasy baseball since 2005 and dynasty since 2021. Started the Dynasty Baseball Pickups podcast in June 2023 and joined Prospects Live in March of 2024.
Often this season, the timing of my article works out to where I write players up right before they get promoted. This week the opposite happened, as I had decided during the All-Star break that I wanted to cover Troy Melton in this week's article. At the time he was around 10% rostered. However, he got the call on Wednesday and as of my writing this (Wednesday night) he has a roster rate of 30%. After his uneven debut today, I thought about writing him up anyway but he really should be universally rostered in dynasty leagues at this point. If he's on your wire, he's a priority pickup and one to spend heavily on in FAAB this weekend. He may even have been dropped by people who rushed out to pick him up earlier this week. He definitely comes with risk, but he's a very intriguing arm. If you missed out on Melton, there are plenty of other intriguing arms highlighted in this article as I went very pitcher heavy this week.
Note: all stats current through Tuesday 7/23/25 and all minor league Statcast figures are sourced from TJ Stats.
I've been a big fan of Kendry Rojas for awhile. I wrote him up last season on August 15th when he was just 2% rostered. Here is what I had to say at the time:
Rojas is an exciting arm for the Blue Jays and has improved command since his return from a shoulder injury. If he can stay healthy (no easy feat in a system cursed with pitching injuries) and prove those gains are legitimate, he could rise rankings quickly. For now, though, he’s an add in leagues of 400+ prospects.
Rojas would go on to finish the season strong and even spend some time in the AFL. Unfortunately, he would struggle with health again this season as he started the year on the IL with a abdomen injury. After a lengthy rehab assignment in which he dominated to the tune of a 1.00 ERA, Rojas was promoted to Double-A on July 4th. The new level has done nothing to slow him down as he currently has a 2.51 ERA (0.46 FIP), 0.84 WHIP, 42.6% strikeout rate, and just a 3.7% walk rate in three starts there. It's even more impressive when you take out his poor debut outing. In his last two starts, Rojas has just given up 1 run in 9.2 innings pitched with 18 strikeouts to just a single walk. His FIP in those starts is a negative number at a laughable -0.16.
Rojas has the stuff to back up the performance with a four-seam and sinker that sit in the mid 90s with good extension. Along with a changeup and slider that get tons of whiffs. Per TJ Stats, each of his pitches is an above average offering:
The velo is up significantly this year as Rojas's fastball averaged just 91-95 last season and topped out at 96 while his slider topped out at 84.
Why To Think Twice
Rojas has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career, spending missing at least a month of starts in three of the last four seasons. Due to this, he hasn't logged many innings over his minor league career as he's thrown more than 63 just once in a season (2023) when he threw a career high 84 innings in Single-A. It's a small sample at Double-A and most of his track record this year is against low level minor leaguers in short stints.
Final Thoughts
Kyle and I have been the only ones to rank Rojas in June, and I was the highest at 261. While I'm still working on my rankings I have him at 177 and that could rise. The hype is definitely present as he's seen his roster rate skyrocket after his last two starts. Go grab him in leagues of 200+ prospects before its too late.
Where to pick up: Leagues with 200+ prospects rostered.
A Giants fan living in San Diego, been playing fantasy baseball since 2005 and dynasty since 2021. Started the Dynasty Baseball Pickups podcast in June 2023 and joined Prospects Live in March of 2024.
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
Dynasty player of 10+ years. Helping you find the building blocks of your championship rosters as a co-host on the Dynasty Baseball Pickups podcast since mid-season 2023, joined Prospects Live at the start of 2024.
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
