Young prospect's spring breakout has him positioned to be Cubs' #1 by year's end

Editor's Note: Jefferson Rojas left Saturday's Cactus League game in the eighth inning after suffering an undisclosed injury. We don't have any additional details - but shoutout to Greg Huss of the Cubs On Deck Podcast for keeping us all in the know on X when it went down.

The fanfare and excitement that surrounded Chicago Cubs spring training last month has faded, overshadowed by the daily excitement that comes with the World Baseball Classic, where Pete Crow-Armstrong is putting up massive numbers for the United States, continuing his ascent to superstardom that began last season.

That doesn't mean there aren't storylines worth paying attention to in Cubs camp, though. Craig Counsell is working through the final spots on the 26-man Opening Day roster and recently named Matthew Boyd the team's Opening Day starter. But, for me, the biggest story out of Mesa this year has been the impressive play of young infield prospect Jefferson Rojas.

Rojas, still just 20 years old, enters the season as MLB Pipeline's #5 Cubs prospect - but if he keeps playing like he has this spring, it wouldn't surprise anybody to see him at the top of the list by the end of the season. He's showed off impressive power and, while the overall slash line could be better, the tools are clear - and have been a major talking point this spring.

“Jefferson’s made a great impression,” manager Craig Counsell told the Chicago Sun-Times this spring. “Just being able to see Jefferson two years ago, and where we’re at right now — wow. … We’ve got a good offensive player here that’s going to impact the baseball and do some damage. He’s going to be a dangerous hitter.”

Cubs envision Jefferson Rojas being big-league ready by the end of 2026

He reached Double-A for the first time last year - and was nearly four years younger than the average player at that level. There were pretty apparent offensive struggles (.164/.279/.205 in 172 PA), but the Cubs love the development they continue to see at the plate, especially since almost very single pitcher he's faced in his pro career has been older than him.

Rojas isn't a finished product yet. Nobody is suggesting otherwise. But everything is falling into place for this to be a transformational year for the dynamic infielder, which Counsell believes could end with him knocking on the door of the big leagues.

“The goal for that would be at the end of the year he’s ready to play in the major leagues, I think that’s how we would see it,” Counsell said. “He’s 20, so that’s an ambitious goal right there, but he’s having a great camp, and the way he’s kind of matured in the batter’s box over the last two years, getting spring training looks from him is really fun to see.”