January 28, 2020

After being sent to Arizona in the Zack Greinke trade, Rojas played eight more games in the minors before the club pulled him up to the majors. From that point on, he played almost every day as the Diamondbacks gave him 35 starts, but he provided little fantasy value with a mere .217 average, 2 home runs, and 4 steals. Despite that humble debut, Rojas offers real promise. Before being called up, Rojas was enjoying an excellent season in both AA and AAA. In his 2019 MiLB work, he hit .332 with 23 HR, 89 R, 83 RBI, and 33 SB. Granted Rojas was a 24-year-old rookie, but he showed the type of power and speed that could make him an interesting option in the later rounds. The batted-ball data is similarly encouraging: Rojas’ 2019 batting average was probably unlucky, given his .241 xBA and .326 xwOBA. Those numbers are poor, but they are far more promising than Rojas’ initial results. The other batted-ball element worth noting was that despite owning a relatively modest 89.0 MPH exit velocity, Rojas managed 95.5 MPH on balls in the air. His current ADP is sitting at 369, and that will drop now that the Diamondbacks have added Starling Marte. However, the silver lining in for Rojas owners could be that he played all over the diamond in the minors, and he got most of his 2019 MiLB starts at second base. The Diamondbacks used him in the outfield, but it’s possible that they’ll move him around in a super-utility role. It’s difficult to count on that or to know how many plate appearances that will actually mean for Rojas. For now, he’s a late-round lottery ticket, who has to be drafted as a backup player who will start in about 80 games and generate a .260 BA, 8 HR, 8 SB, 43 runs, and 35 RBI.--David Emerick