Gio Rojas is MLB Pipeline's No. 8-ranked prospect for the 2026 Draft. Here is everything you need to know about Rojas.
FAST FACTS
MLB Pipeline ranking: No. 8
Position: LHP
Height/weight: 6-foot-4, 195 lbs.
Bats/throws: R/L
Age: 19 (Born June 29, 2007)
School: Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS (FL)
MLB PIPELINE SCOUTING GRADES (20-to-80 scale)
Fastball: 60
Slider: 60
Changeup: 50
Control: 55
Overall: 60
1. He's the top-ranked HS pitching prospect
On the back of a dominant senior season, Rojas climbed the ranks to MLB Pipeline's second-ranked pitching prospect, behind only UC Santa Barbara's Jackson Flora. Rojas, who just turned 19 on June 29, pitched to a 0.58 ERA across 72 innings with 124 strikeouts in his final year for Marjory Stoneman Douglas.
He's one of just four high school players ranked inside the top 15 in MLB Pipeline's latest Draft rankings, along with shortstop Grady Emerson (No. 2), shortstop Jacob Lombard (No. 4) and outfielder Eric Booth Jr. (No. 6). In the 2025 Draft, only two high school pitchers were selected in the first round.
2. At a young age, he has a big-game pedigree
Rojas doesn't like to lose. Luckily for him, he hasn't done much of it.
In May, Rojas tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings in a 12-strikeout gem to help Stoneman Douglas capture its sixth consecutive Florida Class 7A State Championship. He allowed just one hit against Venice, another Florida high school baseball powerhouse.
Last year, Rojas also steered Team USA to a gold medal at the WBSC U-18 World Cup, pitching 11 scoreless innings across the tournament. His complete game shutout against Korea in the Super Round helped earn him All-World Starting Pitcher honors.
3. He models his game after Chris Sale
Not a bad role model for a left-handed pitcher to have, right? Sale, a nine-time All-Star, weaponizes his long limbs and funky arm slot to tie hitters into knots. Rojas, who checks in at 6-foot-4, shares some of those qualities. His low three-quarters arm slot helps some of his pitches play up, like his sweeping slider and riding fastball that bursts through the zone despite the low release point.
"He's pretty darn good at the game, and I watched him growing up," Rojas said of Sale during the Draft Combine on MLB Network.
4. He's ready to give back to his family
Rojas recently told Rob Friedman of Pitching Ninja that he plans to use his first signing bonus as a means to give back to his parents -- repaying them for all of the support they've shown him. He hopes to buy them a home and make sure they don't have to wake up in the morning and go to work.
"Finally getting them off their feet," Rojas said.
Rojas grew up in Colorado, but when he was 16, his family decided to pack up their car and move to Florida to help further Rojas' baseball aspirations. One of his aunts lived five minutes away from Stoneman Douglas and knew that the school had a strong baseball program. He wants to repay that sacrifice.
5. He's the latest elite prospect from Stoneman Douglas
Rojas isn't the first big-time prospect to come out of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.
In total, Stoneman Douglas has sent seven players to the big leagues. That list includes Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony -- Class of 2022 -- and Phillies pitcher Jesús Luzardo, who graduated in 2016 and has been a mentor to Rojas. Longtime Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo was sixth-round pick out of Stoneman Douglas in 2007.
Stil, there is one thing that no baseball player from Stoneman Douglas has done: be a first-round pick in the Draft. Rojas has a good chance to be the first in just a few weeks.