Incoming! Cubs top prospect Rojas hits building during two-homer night
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There’s a lot to consider when moving into a new apartment: square footage, amenities … and the possibility of a home run landing on your patio? A ball off the bat of Jefferson Rojas went ricocheting off of Yardley Flats on Saturday night, a brand-new complex that gives fans a closer-than-usual look at future Cubs. And the organization's No. 1 prospect was just getting started.
Rojas went 3-for-3 with two home runs at Covenant Health Park, leading the Double-A Knoxville Smokies in their 14-5 trouncing of the Birmingham Barons.
In the bottom of the first, Rojas became the first Smokie to ever hit the building, which sits just beyond left field. He followed it up with a double in the third, setting up fellow top prospect Owen Ayers (CHC No. 9) for a game-tying two-run homer.
From there on out, it was all Knoxville and Rojas. MLB’s No. 81 prospect walked in the fourth and hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth as the Smokies built a 12-5 lead. Rojas came to the plate for the final time in the the seventh and obliterated a ball 110 mph off the bat per the ballpark's Trackman device, this time targeting the bullpen, sending it over the left-center-field fence.
It marked the 21-year-old’s first multihomer game at Double-A and just his third across his five pro seasons after he accomplished the feat twice for High-A South Bend in 2025. It marked his first three-hit game of the season, while his 10 total bases were a career high.
While the home runs were flashy (his seventh and eighth of the season), the bigger story is his recent offensive consistency. Still young compared to most of his Double-A competitors, Rojas has strung together three consecutive multihit games and has at least one knock in nine of his past 11 contests.
Less than a year removed from his Double-A debut, Rojas now finds himself in the Smokies' history books -- and his home runs as souvenirs for nearby patrons.