After being drafted by the Twins in the 38th round out of Mississippi State, Brent Rooker went back to college for another year. That move paid off, as the Twins took him again in the first round in 2017. At the time, Baseball America ranked the outfielder/first baseman as a top 100 prospect in the game, writing, “He projects as a middle-of-the-order weapon with power as a strong carrying tool.”
Rooker reached Triple-A in 2019. The minor league season was cancelled in 2020, but Rooker was able to make his MLB debut in September of that year. In his sixth game in the Majors, he went deep off the Cardinals’ Daniel Ponce de Leon. Unfortunately, Rooker’s forearm was fractured on a hit-by-pitch not long after that.
The surgery for that injury went well, and Rooker was back in the bigs in April of ’21. The left fielder showed promise that year, popping nine home runs in 213 plate appearances for the Twins. One highlight: a four-hit effort against the Rays, including a home run off Evan Phillips.
The Padres were drawn to Rooker, as they acquired him along with Taylor Rogers in the April 2022 trade that sent Chris Paddack and Emilio Pagan to Minnesota. After a few brief big league looks for San Diego, the Padres traded Rooker to the Royals in August of ’22 for Cam Gallagher. Finally, in November of last year, the A’s claimed Rooker off waivers from the Royals.
A whirlwind 2022 season saw Rooker as a member of four different organizations. He still managed to hit 28 home runs in 365 plate appearances at Triple-A. Rooker joins an A’s team that currently projects to have Ramon Laureano and Seth Brown at the outfield corners and Aledmys Diaz at DH. The 28-year-old Rooker appears to have little left to prove at Triple-A and is in a good place to compete for playing time as a right-handed power bat.
As Brent notes, he’s at least above replacement level at Twitter, and you should follow him @Brent_Rooker12. Brent volunteered to chat with MLBTR readers today, and we’re happy to have him! Click here to join the live chat.