Fantasy Baseball: Last — and we mean last — call on Josh Rojas
Imagine the final week of your fantasy baseball season ended Monday night. You were just one stolen-base point away from the top spot in your roto league heading into the night. Or maybe you were down 4-2 in stolen bases in your H2H category league. It was the 11th hour. Do or die.
And then Josh Rojas — whom you picked up off waivers when the D-backs parked him at the top of their lineup for the first time — won you your league.
That seems like a wild sentence to write, and to read — but that's because Josh Rojas had a wild performance last night.
Unprotected base? Meet Josh Rojas
Josh Rojas' final line in the D-backs' 7-0 victory over the Giants last night wasn't incredible on the surface; 2-for-4, just one RBI and walk, no extra-base hits. But if you look farther down that line you'll be startled to find a "3" under the stolen base column.
Yes, Rojas had his way on the basepaths last night, nabbing three bags — including third base twice — in the victory.
It's disappointing that he wasn't able to score a run, which speaks to the larger issue of the D-backs' lineup being so weak that it hampers his bottom line. But we can't ignore a performance like this, no matter how random it might seem.
But is it random with Rojas? The fantasy community hasn't exactly been waiting for him to explode on the scene, but we also haven't been disregarding him. Still just 28 years old, we know there's double-digit power and speed potential with him. He's now up to 11 stolen bases and five homers on the season, and that could very well end up looking like 15 and 10, respectively, when the season is wrapped (maybe even 20 and 10 if this is the beginning of a hot run; after all, he is 16-for-his-last-50, which equates to a .320 average).
And while the D-backs aren't exactly the best team in MLB, we like leadoff hitters in fantasy — especially when they're willing to run. And with how scarce stolen bases are, it's hard to ignore a hitter who not only can snag a bag but can actually hit and get on base at a solid clip, as well (unlike, say, someone like Jorge Mateo, Rojas has shown batting-average pedigree throughout his career in the minors and is hitting .270 on the 2022 season).
Rojas is likely long gone in deep leagues, with his rostered percentage creeping past 55 percent, and that will likely move even higher after last night. I found him available in two 12-team leagues; go check if he's still on the waiver in yours.
