Monday, April 20

Welcome back to the Cubs Beat newsletter. Jordan Bastian has covered baseball for MLB.com since 2005, including the Cubs since the 2019 season.

MESA, Ariz. -- On the Cubs’ backfields earlier this spring, prospect Jefferson Rojas stepped into the box to face Cade Horton during a live batting practice session. Rojas connected with a pitch from last year’s National League Rookie of the Year runner-up and sent it sailing well beyond the left-field fence on Field 6.

A small group of Minor Leaguers had stopped between fields to watch Rojas hit and did their best not to react too loudly. But they all beamed and one declared to the others, “I told you! I told you!”

In camp as a non-roster invitee this spring, Rojas has not only been getting reactions from the teammates who know him from his climb up the system. The 20-year-old infielder has also been opening eyes with the Cubs’ Major League staff in how he has conducted himself behind the scenes, during workouts and on the field.

During Monday’s Cactus League win over the Royals in Surprise, Rojas launched a towering homer (107.5 mph off the bat, per Statcast) off Luinder Avila. Through five preseason games, he has hit .300 (3-for-10) with a walk, three RBIs and a .964 OPS.

It’s a small sample in a spring environment, but there is confidence to be gained and an MLB team to impress for a player who will turn 21 in April.

“Jefferson’s made a great impression,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “This is why you love to see the talented players from [player development] come over, even if they’re not ready to be big leaguers, necessarily. Just being able to see Jefferson at 19 two years ago and where we’re at right now, it’s like, ‘Wow.’

“The maturation, the kind of hitter he’s turned into. It’s really fun to watch.”

Rojas cracked Pipeline’s Top 100 list prior to the ‘25 season and remains among the pack of prospects just outside the current list. He was the Cubs’ No. 3 prospect at the end of ‘25 and should remain near the top when the new team rankings are released on March 3.

Last season, Rojas bounced between shortstop and second base and raked in his 67-game stay with High-A South Bend (.871 OPS). He made the jump to Double-A Knoxville, but struggled offensively in 39 games (.484 OPS) while being nearly four years younger than the average hitter at that level.

Rojas said he has worked on some tweaks to his swing -- focusing on his posture and hand position -- and is trying to make the most of this spring.

“One of the goals is to observe,” Rojas said via team translator Fredy Quevedo Jr. “Observe a lot of the veterans like [Alex] Bregman, Nico [Hoerner], [Dansby] Swanson. They’re infielders like me, so I feel like I can learn a lot from them just by observing them and what they do.”

Asked about the homer off Horton, Rojas smiled wide.

“Before live BP,” Rojas said, “Cade Horton actually told me, ‘Hey, go easy on me,’ because last year I hit a home run off him as well.”

“Jefferson, he owns me,” Horton said with a laugh. “I think I've faced him seven times, probably. And he’s taken me deep three times. One fastball, one on a sinker, and one on a slider. I wanted him to go easy on me. Obviously, he didn’t. Second live BP, he took me deep twice.

“All right, dude. We get it. You’re a good hitter. No, he’s really skilled for his age. And really mature for his age. I’m happy to have him on our team.”

The Cubs’ pitching staff led the Majors with a 6.9% walk rate in 2025. When was the last time a Cubs team posted a lower walk rate than that in a single season?

A. 2015

B. 1984

C. 1968

D. 1917

Outfielder Michael Conforto agreed to a Minor League deal with a non-roster invite to Cubs camp this week, giving him a chance to compete for an Opening Day bench role.

Q: What made the Cubs an appealing option?

MC: “I’m always super excited to play there. The city being beautiful. I’ve always had a great experience. And being around the league for a while, I’ve just kept hearing how the Cubs organization is really top-tier -- how they treat players, how they treat their families. … Also, a competitive team. I had a taste of winning last year and it was pretty fun.”

Q: Can you use the uncertainty of being an NRI as motivation?

MC: “It's a new feeling. I haven’t had to make a team since I was 23, 24? … Obviously as a free agent, you want the guarantee, you want the roster spot. When it kind of came down to that not being an option for me, taking this deal with the Cubs was like an exciting moment. I didn’t really expect it, but it felt good to have that new perspective. And it felt exciting and new again.”

Q: What was your view of this Cubs team from afar last year?

MC: “The athleticism. The speed. The way they play the game at a pace that feels suffocating. … The energy that they brought. The pitching. Bullpen. We were super aware of the Cubs with the Brewers-Cubs matchup in the playoffs. We didn’t want to see either team, but we knew it was going to be a battle come October. We were fully expecting to see the Cubs there.”

• Horton gets sophomore year rolling with strong spring debut. Read more >>

• A day in the life of PCA as he adjusts to stardom with Cubs. Read more >>

• Imanaga’s hard work displayed in first radar gun readings. Read more >>

• Bench spot opens with Austin out “months” due to knee injury. Read more >>

• 'Let’s go win’: Bregman fired up for World Baseball Classic after men’s hockey gold. Read more >>

A. 2015

The Cubs’ posted a 6.8% walk rate in the 2015 season, ranking sixth in the Majors. The 6.9% rate turned in during the ‘25 campaign was tied for the 18th-best mark in team history in the Modern Era (since 1900). The franchise record is 5.4% in 1902.

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