Brent Rooker Makes MLB Debut

Nice article.  I'm glad the kid is up.  Next year Kiriloff.  The following year, Lewis.

Rooker shares something in common with Dinkleman and Wade. May his career not share their trajectory 

Rooker always took professional At Bats for the Red Wings in 2019. He goes up to the plate and definitely has a “grinder” attitude. Defensively, he usually went back and forth between LF and 1B and he was pretty much adequate at both. Watching yesterday’s Double Header Was quite consistent with his time in Rochester. Glad he got his opportunity! The organization is lacking in RH bats - which is amplified by the unfortunate trade of RH Jaylin Davis to the Giants for the injured Sam Dyson.

So glad for a call up - still hoping for more.  As much as I like Arraez, his injury has really disrupted the season and the IL with a call up of Blankenhorn would make sense to me.  

I like Rooker, feels like he could be an Adam Dunn kind of player: big power, lots of Ks, plenty of walks. But Rooker should be a better defensive player, and if he can be average-ish in the corners/1B and live in to his power potential, he's going to be a very nice player and a real asset.

Finding playing time might be a bit of a problem for him, but as a RH bat there should be ABs available for him in the corners.

Very solid start for the big guy. Love seeing him make that hard contact.

Gotta be happy for this young man.

Didn't see him getting called up, unless there was an injury to one of the starting corner outfielders. Well, that sure keeps happening this summer.

Don't know how long this stay will be but really would like to see him whack a couple real long bomba's this next week. Heck, maybe the old Cardinals fan can get one in St. Louis on Tuesday.

Like the call-up. See what Rooker can do at MLB level. Might be drop off defensively to Wade but hopefully upgrade hitting. Low risk call-up, he is an older prospect, played AAA last year. Hope he gets plenty of playing time last few weeks of season. 

The encouraging statcast news is three hard hit balls averaging 104.6 MPH from a sorely needed right handed bat.

The concerning statcast news is his outs above average of -2 after 13 innings is the same as Sano’s in 313 innings of RF play.. He missed or did not attempt on balls that had a 50%(dive), 55%(no attempt) and 85%(no attempt) catch probability.  Additionally the marvelous Donaldson catch was one that the left fielder should have made the play in the first game. He certainly must be a better fielder than he showed yesterday. The Twins would not have kept him in the outfield. I will assume first day jitters had an impact on his reaction time and he will be better.

Seeing someone's lifetime dream achieved never gets old!

"Defensively, well, no, he won’t be a Gold Glove winner, but he can play both corner outfield positions. ..... But he will make the routine plays. He can also play an adequate first base if needed.

Rooker is also very smart."

Well, he didn't look too smart or adequate diving for a fly he should have been smart about and played back for a routine single and not made the dive that wasn't even close that created a triple and allowed a run to score, and maybe both runs in the end. But maybe he will get smarter. I am sure he is trying to impress, but that didn't impress me much.

I am glad the Twins are finally calling up some guys from the farm instead of signing guys like Vargas. This should have happened sooner. Wade is a waste of time. Just like Granite was. Time to go with the guys that can be part of the future instead of fillers. I also feel Arraez is a Danny Santana. Great. A good rookie year. But he is making decisions on in the field, and on the base paths, that are horrible. Baseball mentality? And to think folks (including himself) were silly enough to think he could/would/might hit .400. He will be lucky to hit .270, and with no power.

Always believed a prosoects age should never be a consideration. If a young 20yo comes up and shines and then slips or washes out did it matter he arrived so young? If a kid arrives 25-26yo and has a nice, solid or very good career, does it matter he arrived "late"?

For example, on the Twins right now we have 2 tremendous players who were "late" arrivals in Donaldson and Cruz.

I've always felt Rooker would be a solid ML player with the Twins, or someone else. And not just due to his power. He has produced and produced well at every level AFTER taking a little time to adjust. I hope be does well and provides a spark. But at least, his time now should help with any adjustments.

The one thing that has confounded me, however, is that for a good all around athlete the reports are consistent that he is average defensively anywhere he's put. Average isn't bad by any means if you have a good bat. But it just seems his athleticism should allow for a better defensive player.

Wish him tons of luck and hope for the best!

Always believed a prosoects age should never be a consideration. If a young 20yo comes up and shines and then slips or washes out did it matter he arrived so young? If a kid arrives 25-26yo and has a nice, solid or very good career, does it matter he arrived "late"?

 

For example, on the Twins right now we have 2 tremendous players who were "late" arrivals in Donaldson and Cruz.

 

I've always felt Rooker would be a solid ML player with the Twins, or someone else. And not just due to his power. He has produced and produced well at every level AFTER taking a little time to adjust. I hope be does well and provides a spark. But at least, his time now should help with any adjustments.

 

The one thing that has confounded me, however, is that for a good all around athlete the reports are consistent that he is average defensively anywhere he's put. Average isn't bad by any means if you have a good bat. But it just seems his athleticism should allow for a better defensive player.

 

Wish him tons of luck and hope for the best!

My hope for Rooker is that he makes a strong enough impression during his time with the big club to become a more valuable trade piece this winter. No offense, Mr. Rooker, but I want to have more players in the lineup who put the ball in play more often than you, even if it stays in the yard a lot. I'm very happy the Twins have a dozen prospects who excite me more.

Always believed a prosoects age should never be a consideration. If a young 20yo comes up and shines and then slips or washes out did it matter he arrived so young? If a kid arrives 25-26yo and has a nice, solid or very good career, does it matter he arrived "late"? For example, on the Twins right now we have 2 tremendous players who were "late" arrivals in Donaldson and Cruz. I've always felt Rooker would be a solid ML player with the Twins, or someone else. And not just due to his power. He has produced and produced well at every level AFTER taking a little time to adjust. I hope be does well and provides a spark. But at least, his time now should help with any adjustments. The one thing that has confounded me, however, is that for a good all around athlete the reports are consistent that he is average defensively anywhere he's put. Average isn't bad by any means if you have a good bat. But it just seems his athleticism should allow for a better defensive player. Wish him tons of luck and hope for the best!

The reason age affects prospect status is the general age bell curve of player careers, and age of player versus competition.  Yes, some players will be late bloomers, but the prospect rankings is more so based on future possibility.  If a player does not debut until 26 he is expected to have a shorter career generally, and less likely to have much improvement over the years as age 27 has been found to be most peak seasons for players, and after 30 they really trend downhill. 

You can point to a few that buck that trend and they are outliers, just like in any data set.  I myself point to them as it is always possible.  The point I am trying to make is if a player is doing well at higher levels when they are younger it is expected they will get better as they reach peak age of 27.  So if they reach majors at 22 or 23, and is say a 2 to 3 WAR, it would not be out of imagination they would get to a WAR of 8 to 10 at age 27.  But if they reach major at 26 and have WAR of 2 or 3, it is doubtful they will every become a WAR of 8 to 10.  Sure they could and maybe they can play to age 40 and fight for triple crown in short season, but not many will maybe 1 in several thousand.