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00:03The Mets trade deadline sell-off brought several new prospects into the organization,
00:07but perhaps none has generated more excitement than Jefferson Rojas.
00:11The 21-year-old infielder was acquired from the Chicago Cubs
00:14in the deal that sent Clay Holmes and Tyrone Taylor to Chi-Town.
00:18Rojas is now the highest-ranked prospect in the Mets farm system,
00:22but what kind of player are the Mets actually getting?
00:25To help us answer that question, we're joined by Mick Gillespie,
00:28the play-by-play voice of the Knoxville Smokies,
00:31who watch Rojas' development up close at the AA level.
00:35And Mick joins me now. Mick, how you doing, man?
00:37Doing great. How you doing?
00:39I'm doing good, man. I'm doing good.
00:40It's interesting, you and I were talking about this before we started recording,
00:44just the excitement that Mets fans have about Jefferson Rojas and coming into the farm system.
00:49And so, let's start with this.
00:51Take us back to the first few times that you watched Jefferson Rojas play in Knoxville.
00:56Was there anything that you saw, whether it was during batting practice in the field
00:59or the dugout that immediately told you that he was different from the average AA player?
01:04Yeah, so, yeah, sorry.
01:06Yeah, so he got there last year, so he was 20.
01:11And right off the bat, the thing that stuck out to me was just the loud contact.
01:16You know, in baseball, you can tell when someone has that crack, you know.
01:22But the crack really didn't happen in the games.
01:26You know, like he got promoted and really was blown away.
01:30He was, you know, not a good player.
01:35And he was kind of rumored to be a player they might have traded last year at the deadline.
01:41And I remember talking to one of the Diamondback scouts, and he asked me what I thought.
01:47And I said, well, I think he'll be a pretty good player.
01:49And he just wasn't sure, right?
01:51And he just was kind of like, oh, you know.
01:55And then you watch him strike out a bunch of times or have bad at bats.
01:59And, you know, you try to remember that he's 20, but at the same time, you're looking at it
02:03and going, hey, the great players, even young, you know, they come in and they do well.
02:09So last year was just not very good.
02:11And I kind of wondered to myself, okay, you know, what's this guy going to look like?
02:16But he came to spring training this year and played with the big league team and did really well.
02:22And then that continued throughout the course of this season and kind of proved that the development was happening.
02:29And, you know, still as one of the younger players, maybe the youngest player on the team was one of
02:35the best.
02:35Yeah, for sure. And you talk about the turnaround from 25 to 26, 2025, that is.
02:41And he hit just 164 during his first 39 AA games in 2025.
02:46But he returned this season, 15 homers, 17 stolen bases, 791 OPS before the trade.
02:51From your vantage point, what changed the most with Jefferson Rojas?
02:55Was it his swing, his physical strength, his approach, or just simply his confidence?
03:00Yeah, I think part of it was his approach.
03:03You know, he didn't strike out as much, and he made much better contact.
03:08And I think if you talk about his strengths, it's obviously his ability to hit the ball, you know, and
03:13develop some power.
03:14I think we always thought he was going to have power, but, you know, what, 15 home runs, 19 doubles,
03:21clutch hits.
03:22So it wasn't just like, you know, against the bad pitchers.
03:27I mean, he's pretty much hit everyone.
03:30And when you look at him as a player and you evaluate the hit tools, the one that you really
03:37love, it's what sticks out.
03:38And that's obviously why he's such a highly rated prospect, you know, because he can hit for power at a
03:47level that, you know, for a 20-year-old is elite.
03:50And then he drives the ball.
03:53And I've seen him have much better at-bats this year, get into better hitters counts, and just crush the
04:00ball.
04:01Well, I'll say this, one of the highlights is the stadium's two years old, and there's an apartment complex that's
04:08built behind the left-field wall.
04:11And he's the only guy that's hit a home run off of the apartments.
04:15And I mean, like, you know, high off the apartments.
04:18I mean, just an absolute tank.
04:20So he's a fun player to watch in that aspect.
04:23And I'm sure that when the Mets got him, you know, their hope is that that will continue, which I
04:29think it will.
04:31And, you know, and if it does, I mean, he's going to hit some monster shots.
04:37Let me ask you about that, Mick, just to go back to that, because I read about that.
04:40I did not see, I did not watch the highlight of that.
04:42I assume you were on the call for that when he hit the home run.
04:46What was that like for you, calling that and watching that, you know what I mean?
04:49Because you've called so many games in that ballpark, and that's the first time that somebody hits the building, and
04:55you see him do that.
04:55Was that kind of a wow moment for you there when you made that call of him hitting the ball
05:00off the apartment?
05:01Yeah.
05:02So, yeah, and that's, you know, for me, I'm thinking as the ball's in the air, I'm like, okay, I
05:09definitely need to give this a little extra juice, right?
05:11Right.
05:12Because he just hit it off the apartments, you know, like off somebody's porch, like three levels up, you know,
05:20and there's only four levels.
05:21So, yeah, I was pretty amped for him, you know.
05:24It was cool.
05:24It was, I knew it was going to be, from my vantage point, one of those moments where, you know,
05:30for years they'll probably be playing that highlight.
05:33So, yeah, it was funny.
05:35I mean, just to hear that, the sound of that ball and just see it, like, I mean, I just
05:41thought if he's here long enough, maybe he could hit it over the apartments.
05:44Oh, man, that would have been, that would have been crazy to see an even call.
05:49But I wanted to ask you this, because even this season that he was with the Smokies, Rojas, he followed
05:55a strong April, April, excuse me, with a difficult May before erupting again in June.
06:00So, what did you notice about the way he handled failure, criticism, and the daily mental grind of pro baseball?
06:07Because we've seen him bounce back through things, and how has he carried it and dealt with the grind, the
06:12mental grind of professional baseball?
06:16My assessment of him is the hit part of it's going to be the easy part.
06:21Like, I mean, and that's normally hard for a baseball player.
06:24I think he's going to be fine.
06:26I mean, to be the youngest guy by that, you know, by that many years, I mean, you're talking about,
06:31you know, probably about a 24, 25-year-old average, and he's 20, and just, you know, just kept showing
06:38up and doing all the things that he needed to do at the plate.
06:43I feel like that the hitting's going to come, you know.
06:47I think that's the natural part.
06:49The kind of the negative to me is the other stuff, right?
06:53Like, never had a problem, like, with him at the plate.
06:56Always wanted him up.
06:57And you knew that if it got to a situation in a game where it was on the line, and
07:02he was somewhere close, if you could get to him, then you had a good shot of, you know, him
07:08coming through.
07:09You know, he's had some walk-off hits this year.
07:10He's had, you know, some huge hits.
07:13The team won the first half, and they wouldn't have without him.
07:16And they're not as good of a team now that he's gone.
07:20You know, I don't know what they're going to do in the playoffs.
07:22You know, at the double-A level, like, that matters.
07:25But he is a really good hitter, and I think that's only going to continue.
07:32You know, and he kind of showed that at the, you know, at the spring training thing.
07:36And it's not like he's up there super disciplined, but disciplined enough.
07:42And then he barrels the ball up.
07:43He's just really quick to the ball.
07:45He drives it.
07:48And, you know, to me, I think that if I was a Mets fan, I'd be really excited about watching
07:54him hit.
07:55Yeah, Art, so he doesn't lose the focus with the hitting.
07:57He's always going to be locked in on this.
07:59Let's talk about him playing in the field because he's played shortstop, third base, and second base.
08:04And there appears, Mick, to be some debate over his long-term position.
08:09Where did he look most natural to you?
08:11Does he have the range and consistency to remain an everyday MLB shortstop?
08:15Or is his versatility ultimately one of his greatest assets when you look at him?
08:21Yeah, this is where I'm pretty critical of him.
08:23I just don't think he's – he's not good enough to play shortstop at the double-A level, let alone
08:28the big leagues.
08:30You know, I don't think his range is good enough.
08:34I've looked at him, and there's been games where I'm wondering, like, you know, he's just – his balance is
08:41bad at shortstop.
08:43Sometimes he takes plays off.
08:46He's just got to be more consistent.
08:48I like him at third a lot better than at shortstop.
08:51I mean, I'm sure he could play second base.
08:52He's done that a few times.
08:54But he mostly played third, and I would probably just put him there and maybe even as a development tool
09:00start playing him in the corner outfield spots.
09:02I don't know what he looks like there, but I think he's good enough to do that.
09:07You know, the Cubs had a guy named Cam Smith who was a third baseman they drafted out of Florida
09:12State,
09:12and they traded him to Houston in the Kyle Tucker deal, and they immediately put him in right field,
09:16and he's been in the big leagues pretty much ever since.
09:19And I could see Rojas maybe doing that as well.
09:23But he's just – you know, it's day-to-day, you know, game-to-game for him, pitch-to-pitch
09:31as far as his defense.
09:32He's got – he's immature, and he doesn't always know the game.
09:37There was a – you know, plays like, you know, grounded a ball one time and didn't run,
09:43and it ends up being a fair ball, and he's out.
09:45You know, there was one where he's at the plate, and there's a guy at third, and the ball gets
09:50by the catcher,
09:51and he just stands there.
09:52He doesn't tell the guy at third to run.
09:54You know, like you kind of have to be a traffic cop, and then, you know, hits the ball and
09:58drops his bat right in the base lane.
10:00Like, he's just got – he's got the hit thing down, but there's so many different aspects of the game
10:07that you have to learn, too.
10:10You know, so it's like the hitting's great, but how do we teach him how to be a great player?
10:17And you know how it is.
10:18Because if you go to New York and you make, you know, little tiny mistakes all the time, they're going
10:24to add up.
10:24And so I think that would be my really development focus for him is I would put a coach –
10:32I said this about him playing for the Cubs.
10:35I would have a coach that just talks to him constantly about the small, integral parts of baseball that don't
10:43include hitting a building with a home run.
10:45You know, like sometimes he's at second base, and a ball's hitting in the outfield, and he doesn't score, and
10:53he should, and he's got to read the ball better.
10:55And I'm sure this stuff comes with time, too, you know, being 20 years old.
10:59So the development for him, in my mind, isn't as much about the swinging at the ball.
11:06It's about all the other stuff, you know, like ground ball to third, and, you know, he just kind of
11:12allays it, two-run score, and you lose the game.
11:16And you go back and you look at it, and you go, you've got to make that play, you know.
11:19So those are the challenges that the Mets are going to have to get him to the major leagues.
11:25But I think all of that stuff is, you know, is stuff that you teach, right?
11:32Like you just keep on working on fundamentals.
11:35So I think that he's weak in that area.
11:38And I wonder, too, you know, coming from the Dominican compared to players that come from the U.S., I
11:45mean, think about in the U.S.
11:46Like so many of the players now are on travel ball teams, and they play constantly, you know.
11:51So they're learning the fundamentals of the game at a young age, and I don't know what his development was
11:59like in that aspect.
12:00But you'll get players out of the draft sometimes, and they're pretty much ready to go even at his age,
12:09you know, the Connor Griffin type guys, you know.
12:13And he's got the skills to be that guy, but he hasn't developed the consistency and maybe even the knowledge
12:22yet.
12:23Yeah, and I love what you said there because there's a lot of nuance in there, right?
12:26Like it does take time.
12:27Development is more than just what you can show with the bat.
12:30It is the mental part of the game, which is a huge part of baseball and all sports in general.
12:34But these things do take time.
12:36He is young, and the Mets are probably going to, not probably, definitely going to have to focus on these
12:41things if they want him to get to the major league level.
12:44Now, Mick, I want you to do something for me here.
12:45I want you to put on the opposing scouts hat for a second here because it's good to look at
12:51things from the other side of the game.
12:52If you were developing a plan to keep Jefferson Rojas from becoming an established major leaguer, what would you test
12:59with him?
13:00And I guess you kind of answered this part.
13:02How would you challenge, you know, his biggest developmental challenge, which is the mental part of what you're saying.
13:08If you're another team trying to stop him that you're playing against, what are you doing to try to stop
13:13him right now with the noted things that you've mentioned about some of the challenges that he has?
13:18Yeah, I mean, I think the first thing is like if he's at the plate, I'm probably throwing high fastballs
13:24trying to get him to chase, you know.
13:26And, you know, sometimes maybe even like sliders middle away.
13:31But I wouldn't want to have to face him in spots where the count becomes predictable, you know, because he's
13:38a really good hitter when, you know, he's able to kind of sit back and know you've got to throw
13:43a strike.
13:43I mean, he's excellent at barreling up pitches that are in the zone.
13:48And then, you know, from like the other aspect, you know, it's like, how do you exploit a player that,
13:55you know, sometimes, you know, isn't going to be there mentally?
14:00I mean, there were a lot of bunts towards him.
14:03Part of that's the shifting that they do.
14:05But, you know, like just kind of trying to attack him at third base, you know, with where he's positioned
14:14and stuff.
14:14I mean, there's stuff like one thing I remember is, you know, they'd have these shifts on.
14:21He's a runner at third base.
14:23And the shortstop is behind second.
14:26And then the third baseman is playing way over.
14:28And you're at third.
14:30And when the Cubs had Javi Baez, you guys know him, he would just steal home.
14:34And Rojas had 17 stolen bases.
14:37I mean, he could run.
14:39You know, it's like just knowing the game enough to go, OK, I got half the baseline here.
14:45And maybe there's a left-hander on the mound.
14:47I'm just going to take advantage of this.
14:49You know, like there's an educated aggressiveness that the great players have.
14:56You know, Javi Baez, obviously, you know, Pete Crow Armstrong is one of those guys.
15:01And I think Rojas has the ability to do that.
15:03But it's just kind of like figuring out the game enough to look over and go, hey, there's no way
15:10that this guy can.
15:11They're not going to throw to third.
15:13I mean, the guy's playing over at shortstop.
15:15He's 25 steps from me.
15:17I'm going to get down the line.
15:18And I'm going to take advantage of the fact that there's no one playing third base and steal a run
15:25here.
15:25Right.
15:25Like the Javi Baez's, the Pete Crow Armstrong's, you know, players like that, they're constantly looking at the situation on
15:36the field and taking advantage of it.
15:39And I don't know if he could do that.
15:41But if he ever got that comfortable with knowing and confident, too, you know, kind of what the game's given
15:49him and start taking advantage of that, he's even going to be better.
15:52And I think that could come with age as well.
15:55Yeah, that's fair.
15:56No, it's fair.
15:57Age and time and it's part of a developmental story that can come for him.
16:00But you make some great points about him reading the game.
16:02Let me ask you this, because you mentioned the story about him hitting the apartment complex there behind the field
16:08down in Knoxville.
16:10Do you have a favorite other story about Jefferson Rojas from his time in Knoxville?
16:14Something maybe from the clubhouse, the dugout, road trip, maybe an interaction that you saw with a teammate or a
16:18fan that might speak to his personality that Mets fans can get to know?
16:21Well, I think that it's just what they're going to like is that he's clutch.
16:26Like he's a really good hitter when the game's on the line.
16:30And that to me is a skill, if I was a scout, that I would pay attention to.
16:36You know, he's had some of the biggest games of the season.
16:38He's had the biggest hits.
16:40You know, I can remember a game early this year.
16:42The team was down five late.
16:45And they got a couple runs.
16:47And then he hits a three-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning.
16:51And it tied the game.
16:52And, you know, the Smokies went on to win.
16:55It's just like he did a lot of that stuff.
16:57You know, he was just constantly causing havoc in big positions.
17:03You know, there'd be games where no one else on the team's getting a hit.
17:08And then, you know, he comes up and just rakes.
17:11So, I mean, you know, I don't see him as one of these, you know, super personality guys, you know,
17:20at least not yet.
17:23But what I saw was someone that if I can get this guy to learn how to do the little
17:31things, that the most important part of it, he's got that down.
17:35It's a natural thing for him.
17:37You know, natural talent is huge, right?
17:40Because you can't teach that.
17:42Like, you either have it or you don't.
17:44And he's got it.
17:46But it's just the other stuff, right?
17:48Like being able to do the things we just talked about.
17:51And that's just a small part of it.
17:52I mean, I'm sure the Mets will, like, be watching for the same stuff.
17:56But I'm curious to see, too, how his body develops, you know, how strong he gets, how much bigger he
18:03gets, how muscular he gets.
18:05Because he doesn't have his man strength yet.
18:07He's not, you know, he's just a kid, you know.
18:09And so there's a huge upside for Rojas.
18:15And that's the dangerous part about making trades like this.
18:19You know what I mean?
18:20Like you just, you try to figure out and project what someone's going to look like in two years.
18:27You know, part of it, too, could be why the Cubs would even have traded him, because there's people in
18:33the organization that love him, is that they signed Alex Bregman to five years and there's no third base for
18:39him.
18:40So, and the Cubs obviously wanted to get an elite pitcher, and they did.
18:45So, you know, that's part of this, too.
18:48You know, like, why would you give up on a guy like that?
18:50But, and I think they were trying to trade him last year, too.
18:53I mean, I know they were, and it didn't happen.
18:55And all he did was make his value go up, you know, by the way that he played in spring
19:01training and then obviously the season.
19:03So, I think that for Mets, it's like, hey, you put somebody in there that's going to create more competition
19:11on your big league roster, and that's only going to make your team better.
19:15Yeah, I think that's a lot of fans are looking at it in terms of the hopes of him coming
19:20up to New York eventually at some point.
19:22And I guess this is how we can end here, Mick, because Mets fans, they see this as soon as
19:27the trade was made.
19:28They see the top 100 ranking.
19:29The fact that he's now the highest ranked prospect in the Mets farm system, and naturally, they're going to start
19:35dreaming about his ceiling.
19:36So, to end this, let's just strip away the rankings and the projections based on the player that you watched.
19:43What do you realistically believe that Jefferson Rojas can become at the major league level, and what must happen for
19:49him to reach the best version of that outcome?
19:53Right, right.
19:53And that's a good question, because I would have traded him.
19:58I thought this was a really good trade for the Cubs.
20:00You know, they've got a couple of other prospects that I didn't want them to trade.
20:05Josiah Hartzorn, who's a 19-year-old switch hitter, that they got basically just bought out of the sixth round,
20:12but gave him like two mil to not go to Texas A&M.
20:16And the guy's been great.
20:17Owen Ayers is another guy.
20:18They got him in the 19th round, and he shot right past AA and the AAA as a catcher that
20:25switch hits.
20:25And, you know, when I'm looking at the guys that you could get rid of and the value, you know,
20:31Rojas, the upside is that Rojas figures out the little things and that the hits keep coming.
20:39And then he becomes a, you know, a power-hitting third baseman or corner outfielder for the Mets for a
20:45long time, right?
20:47You know, like a – and he's got the talent to do that, you know, a potential, like, everyday type
20:54of, you know, maybe 30-home-run guy.
20:57And then the downside is that maybe he's a Christopher Morrell type who comes up to the big leagues and
21:06can hit, but, you know, the defensive part of it and the little things start to kind of chip away
21:14at your ability to play him.
21:17You know, it's like when Kyle Schwarber was with the Cubs playing defense.
21:20You know, sometimes it was an adventure, but as long as you knock in more than you let in, you
21:24know, you're still in the plus.
21:27And so I guess the downside would be, you know, maybe he's one of those guys that he hits, but
21:32he makes so many mistakes that you're like, well, you know, the mental part of the game is keeping him
21:38down.
21:38So I think at the top level, I could see him being an all-star third baseman and, you know,
21:45a basher.
21:46And then maybe at the downside, he's kind of like Morrell where you look at it, he's got all the
21:50physical tools and the ability, but he's not able to put it together.
21:55That's the thing about prospects, right?
21:56The variance is so, it can go one way, it can go the other way.
22:01You never know how it's going to go, but Mets fans are definitely excited for him to be here with
22:05the organization.
22:05We'll see how everything works out for Jefferson Rojas.
22:08Yes, everyone, that is Mick Gillespie, does a fantastic job calling games for the Knoxville Smokies, Chicago's AA affiliate.
22:16Mick, I appreciate you coming on with me here on Straight Outta Flushing to talk a little bit about Jefferson
22:21Rojas and his potential, man.
22:22Thank you so much. Appreciate you.
22:24Yeah, anytime.
22:26Anytime.
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