Cubs' No. 1 prospect Rojas starting to turn corner in Double-A
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Jefferson Rojas is starting to solve Double-A pitching.
The Cubs' No. 1 prospect (No. 80 overall) has notched consecutive three-hit games for Double-A Knoxville, helping the Smokies to a pair of blowout wins over Montgomery at DABOS Park.
Rojas began this season as the Cubs’ No. 5 prospect, but he’s leapfrogged Pedro Ramírez, Jaxon Wiggins and Ethan Conrad and now headlines their system after former No. 1 prospect Moisés Ballesteros graduated from the list.
Rojas has certainly looked the part lately, slashing .369/.425/.662 with five homers, 16 RBIs and eight stolen bases over his past 17 games. It's an encouraging sign for the Cubs after the 21-year-old batted .200 with a .580 OPS over 28 games from April 10 through May 24.
That slump followed a rough introduction to Double-A last summer, when Rojas posted a .164 average with no homers and a .485 OPS in 39 games at that level.
Granted, Rojas also took some time to find his footing when he reached High-A, as he recorded just a .646 OPS in 96 games for South Bend two years ago. He followed that up with an .871 OPS over his first 106 games last season and could be following a similar pattern at Double-A.