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Wednesday, April 6, 2005
Rogers takes another step up, bringing him closer to home
Copyright © 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. | ||
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After spending most of his first nine months as a professional baseball player out West, Mark Rogers is bringing his 95 mph fastball back East. Since he signed for a reported $2.2 million after the Milwaukee Brewers made him the fifth pick in last June's amateur draft, Rogers has done all of his pitching in Arizona. Now, he's heading a bit closer to home. At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Rogers is scheduled to start for the West Virginia Power against the Hagerstown Suns in a Class A South Atlantic League season opener in Maryland. "We're so darn excited, we're going to drive down to Maryland to watch his first start," said Stephanie Rogers, Mark's mother. Rogers, a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher from Orrs Island, could see a lot more of his family and friends during his second season of professional baseball. "Obviously, I'm excited about being on the East Coast," said Rogers. "My family will be able to come see more of my games, and I feel I've got an upper hand because I'm use to the weather (in the East)." Last summer, Rogers played in the Arizona Rookie League, where he was named that league's top pitching prospect by Baseball America. Last fall, he spent six weeks playing in the Arizona Instructional League, an assignment reserved for the Brewers' top 25 minor-league prospects. After Christmas, Rogers spent six weeks at a training camp for pitchers in Newport Beach, Calif. One of the eight other campers was Barry Zito, the left-handed ace of the Oakland A's. "(The camp) got me out of the Maine weather and got me outside to work out and get my arm in shape," Rogers said. Earlier this month, Baseball America listed Rogers, who graduated from Mt. Ararat High School last June, as the 55th best prospect in its annual list of the top 100 prospects. "All the stuff is there" said Jim Rooney, Milwaukee's minor-league pitching coordinator. "Now it's a question of fine-tuning and learning how a major-league pitcher performs. He's at the start of that process, and I don't foresee any problems with him finishing that process successfully." In 15 innings during spring training, Rogers allowed two earned runs. Last Thursday, he didn't allow a hit and struck out five while pitching three innings against an Oakland minor-league team. "His last two or three times out, he was up to 60-65 pitches, so he's all set and ready to go," Rooney said. The youngest player on the Power, Rogers, 19, has been assigned to a team one rung higher on the minor-league ladder than is usual for a player of his age. "We have two rookie ballclubs," said Rooney, "and a lot of our first-year college players go to Helena (in the Pioneer League)." Despite his youth, Rogers was named West Virginia's starting pitcher in its opener. "It will be a great opportunity to pitch in a meaningful game in front of a big crowd, which is something I haven't experienced yet," Rogers said. "We didn't get crowds in Arizona, I tell you that much." Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 725-8795 or at:
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