The Daily Dugout Report - September 17, 2026

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With only a handful of games yesterday, let’s take a look at what happened and what is most important.

Exit Velocity Leaders(Prospects Only)

Whiff Leaders(Prospects Only)

The Prospect Report

🚀 Standout of The Day

Jefferson Rojas, SS, New York Mets (AAA)

Line: 3/3 HR

Why The Performance Matters:

Three hard-hit batted balls for Jefferson Rojas in this one. He hit his homer at 102 mph off the bat, and paired that with 102 and 101 mph singles. Rojas looks primed to be a solid fantasy contributor for quite a while, with his jack-of-all-trades, master of none skillset.

I will be looking to pick up Rojas in a few leagues this offseason, because presumably there will be some runway for him to help the big league squad, and he can do it while collecting that sweet, sweet positional eligibility, depending on what moves the Mets make. Could he be their opening day shortstop if they move Lindor…possibly. Could he bounce around a few different positions if they keep Lindor? That is another possibility. Just for full transparency, I am not sure the Mets are going to be able to move that Lindor contract, but I have been wrong before and I will be wrong again. But for fantasy purposes, Rojas has a touch more ceiling fantasy-wise if he does play all over. We could see him get 2B reps, 3B reps, and even shortstop reps next year at the highest level.

That positional eligibility boost could be huge because while I like Rojas, I don’t think he has the highest upside. There’s maybe 20-homer pop here at the end of the day. And there is some speed here, so maybe he could steal 10-15 bags a year. This, paired with solid bat-to-ball skills, is a pathway here to being a good fantasy option. One that is better as your 2B/MIF option as opposed to your out-and-out shortstop. I’ll be trying to see if I can get Rojas because the pathway towards him being a big league contributor early next season is there. If I were a Mets fan, which I am glad I am not, I would wanna see him as the opening day 2B over Semien, who unfortunately looks done as a starting option even on a second-division team. - RW

Jackson Ferris, LHP, Los Angeles Dodgers (AAA)

Line: 7.2 IP/1 H/0 ER/1 BB/13 K

Why The Performance Matters:

Jackson took 13 batters on a ride to the Ferris Wheel, and this will probably be Jackson Ferris’ best start of his season, which has had its ups and its downs. But in this one, you see why he was a highly thought-of pitching prospect at points in his prospect arc.

The fastball was touching the mid-90s, hitting 96 twice in this start, and only dipped to about 93 mph, which is up from his season average of 92 mph. A late-season velocity surge is nice to see. Paired with his slider velocity being up, it’s no wonder we saw a 13-strikeout performance with 22 whiffs. He has a low release height on all of his pitches at 5’3”, to go along with a low three-quarters slot and 6’9” of extension down the mound. This stuff plays better when he touches 96, and the slider gets 3 inches of IVB and 4 inches of vertical bite, giving him a legit weapon against hitters on both sides of the plate. Then he can mix in the upper-70s curveball as a change-of-pace pitch to right-handed batters.

There is some thought to moving Jackson Ferris to the bullpen because, while it’s not egregious, there have been some location issues. That issue would go away in the bullpen, where he could be a leverage option for the Dodgers. The dream here is that Jackson Ferris gets moved to a team where starting is more on the table, because his stuff is good enough to start, especially if he is topping out at 96. - RW

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