Yariel Rodríguez made history in 2024 when he became the first Cuban-born pitcher to take the mound for the Blue Jays. While Rodríguez was an impact signing in February for $32 million, Kendry Rojas was a much more under-the-radar addition to the organization’s farm system when he signed for $215,000 in October 2020.

No pitcher to sign with a Major League organization from Ciego de Ávila, Cuba, has appeared in a big league game. Despite being still just 21 years old and yet to throw a pitch above High-A, Rojas is certainly on that track, having displayed a pair of above-average offerings that have allowed him to carve up lineups at the lower levels of the Minors when healthy.

“When healthy” being the operative phrase. A left shoulder ailment shut down Rojas for the majority of the spring, with over two months elapsing between in-game outings. But upon his return, the Blue Jays' No. 11 prospect began to stack up strikeouts in bunches, accumulating at least nine punchouts in four of his final 10 starts, a stretch in which he pumped 69 percent of his offerings for strikes and held opposing batters to a 19 percent line-drive rate.

“I’ve improved on the command of my secondary pitches,” Rojas said via Fall League interpreter Analis Castro, as to what unlocked his dominant run to close out 2024. “I’m still working on that command to get better.”

Rojas’ slider has long been his premier offspeed offering. An 82-84 mph bender that lands on the back foot of righties and dives away from lefties, some evaluators believe the pitch could play up even more if he combines it with a blossoming low-to-mid-90s four-seam fastball in shorter relief stints.

But when viewing his gains made and ability to limit walks (career 3.3 K/BB ratio) in totality, the southpaw has a decent-sized rope to continue proving his mettle for a rotation spot. The Jays are unique in the sense that six members of their Top 30 Prospects list are left-handed pitchers, tied for the most in all of baseball (Braves, Guardians, Padres, White Sox).

Whereas Adam Macko (TOR No. 8) and Mason Fluharty (TOR No. 26) are knocking on the door of Toronto, and Ricky Tiedemann (TOR No. 4) still ranks among the Top 10 southpaw pitching prospects in the game despite being expected to miss all of 2025 due to Tommy John surgery, Rojas may offer the most impactful upside of the group. Rojas has had to acclimate not just to the talent level, but to the rigors of living in a new country and meeting a constant shuffle of new faces.

“I had a lot of family support -- giving me advice, my family from Cuba and my brothers,” Rojas said. “It's given me an advantage. … But over time, I’ve felt more comfortable thanks to support from my teammates.”

Tiedemann went to Arizona last year and looked dynamic, setting the stage before injuries beset his progress. Rojas’ early-season absence -- mixed with his track record of success (2.43 ERA in 11 appearances for High-A Vancouver) -- made him a prime Fall League candidate despite the elevated offensive competition on hand. For a hurler who has quickly moved his way up the system’s internal excitement charts, he gets an opportunity to close his second full season in dynamic fashion.

Blue Jays hitters in the Fall League

Eddinson Paulino, INF (No. 17): Acquired as part of the return package that sent catcher Danny Jansen to Boston, Paulino is a well-rounded left-handed-hitting infielder who received double-digit starts at each of shortstop, second base and third base during 2024. A two-time MiLB Organization All-Star while in the Red Sox system, Paulino posted a 114 wRC+ at Double-A in his age-21 season despite being nearly three years younger than the average Eastern Leaguer. He has already received starts at multiple positions for Scottsdale and will look to use his time in the AFL as a way to put himself on the radar of the Blue Jays’ upper levels in 2025 and beyond.

Adrian Pinto, 2B/OF: A rib issue cost Pinto the first half of his 2024 campaign, but upon returning to the lineup, he tore up the High-A Northwest League with a .927 OPS across 17 games that saw 12 of his 21 hits go for extra bases. Acquired from Colorado as part of the return package for Randal Grichuk in March 2022, the biggest thing the 22-year-old Pinto can gain from the Fall League is reps. He has continued to get looks at the keystone and center field, giving him defensive flexibility as his contact-based approach (more career walks than strikeouts) and wheels on the basepaths (73 SB in 162 games) continue to develop.

Peyton Williams, 1B: Selected as a Northwest League All-Star despite playing just 77 games for Vancouver, Williams ranked third among all Blue Jays Minor Leaguers with at least 300 plate appearances in OPS (.844) and wRC+ (135) this year. Offensive thump has long been the calling card of the 255-pound first baseman who delivered an OPS north of 1.000 in back-to-back years at the University of Iowa before Toronto nabbed him in the seventh round of the 2022 Draft. At 24, he’ll be looking to use his stint with the Scorpions to improve his organizational standing and challenge for the upper levels next season.

Blue Jays pitchers in the Fall League

T.J. Brock, RHP: An elbow injury pushed Brock’s season debut to late May and he found himself playing catchup the remainder of the year, finishing with just 11 1/3 innings despite flashing explosive stuff when healthy. The 2022 sixth-rounder fits the prototypical mold of a hurler looking to make up innings in the AFL, but he’ll also be one of the nastier pitchers to square up after a 2023 campaign that saw him whiff 87 batters in 52 2/3 frames. Working with a hammer of a breaking pitch that routinely clocks in around the upper 80s, it routinely was logged as a cutter due to the premium velocity of the offering. He also ramps his heater up around 95-97 mph, giving him the look of a two-pitch back-of-the-bullpen arm.

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Lazaro Estrada, RHP: Another Cuban hurler to suit up for Scottsdale, Estrada made significant strides in rebuilding his prospect profile during a return to form in 2024. After a dominant debut stint in the DSL in 2018, injuries and the pandemic weakened his momentum. Relying primarily on a three-pitch mix that features a low-90s heater, a low-80s changeup and two-plane breaker curveball in the low-to-mid 80s, Estrada climbed three levels this season to Double-A. Having exceeded the 100-inning mark for the first time in his career, the 25-year-old is setting himself up for 2025 to be a make-or-break year as he pushes toward Toronto.

Ryan Jennings, RHP: Signed for way below slot as a fourth-round selection in 2022 out of Louisiana Tech, the six-foot righty has stacked up strikeouts in bunches since entering pro ball. But a mid-summer promotion to Double-A New Hampshire also meant a shift to the bullpen, a move that paid immediate dividends with an 0.90 ERA and .135 opponents’ average against in 10 outings against advanced competition. Still working with a full four-pitch mix, Jennings’ heater has pushed up into the mid-90s in his new relief role, while also working with a low-80s changeup and two mid-80s breaking pitches.

Johnathan Lavallee, RHP: Signed as a free agent prior to the start of the 2024 season, Lavallee rode his power fastball/slider combo (with his heater popping up as a sinker per Baseball Savant’s metrics) to a 12.5 K/9 rate in his first season as a Jays farmhand. Spending most of the year in the back half of the Vancouver ‘pen, the 25-year-old earned a late-season bump to New Hampshire and held opposing batters to an .097 average across 11 outings.