New York Mets prospect Jefferson Rojas had an outstanding season, but he had plenty of company in the 20/20 club.
MLB has become all about home runs in the last decade, and New York Mets prospect Jefferson Rojas was part of a major big trend this season as teams and prospects in the minors continue to follow suit.
Rojas became a member of the 20/20 club this season with 20 home runs to go with 20 stolen bases, and he was one of 59 minor leaguers to do this in the 2026 season. Rojas accomplished his feat across multiple affiliate teams in different minor league levels after he was acquired by the Mets in the deal that sent pitcher Clay Holmes and outfielder Tyrone Taylor to the Chicago Cubs.
The infielder posted a slash line of .285/.338/.611 with 12 home runs across Double-A and Triple-A, and the 58 other players who did this in the minors represent a major jump, according to Sam Dykstra of MLB.com.
There were just 16 players who did this in 2025, so this is an exponential trend. That number is also just one fewer than the total of 60 between the 2023, 2024 and 2025 seasons combined.
Part of this is due to the rules changes regarding stolen bases, which were implemented back in 2021. The limited number of disengagements and throws to first has literally been a game changer, as it’s brought the SB back into the game.
If you want proof of that, go back to the 2010s decade. According to Dykstra, there were 60 players total who got to 20/20 for the entire decade.
This latest surge is more about the long ball, though. According to Dykstra, full-season minor league games averaged 2.17 homers in 2026, with is up up from 1.58 in 2025. That’s an increase of 37.3 percent, but the uptick is even more significant when you look at the numbers from different levels.
If you focus in on Double-A, High-A and Single-A, homers per game went up from 1.34 per game on average in 2025 to 2.14 in ‘26, which is an increase of 59.7 percent. Triple-A stayed relatively static by comparison, going from 2.21 last year to 2.26 this campaign.
For those hoping this trend will diminish or dissipate, good luck. Two prospects actually compiled 30-30 seasons last year, with Kansas City Royals prospect Carson Roccaforte checking in at 35 homers and 32 stolen bases, while Houston Astros prospect Jason Schiavone hit 32 homers to go with the same number of stolen bases.
