Rooker starting to roll as Opening Day nears

MESA, Ariz. -- After less-than-ideal results through most of the spring, Brent Rooker is starting to look like his 2023 power-hitting self.

Rooker crushed a home run for the second day in a row in Wednesday’s 3-1 A’s victory over the Cubs, turning on a 1-0 fastball from reliever Héctor Neris for a two-run blast that traveled well up the left-field berm at Hohokam Stadium at a 111.5 mph exit velocity.

Rooker’s slow start this spring -- five hits and 11 strikeouts through his first 13 Cactus League games -- likely would have led to the A’s optioning him to the Minor Leagues by this point last year. Every Cactus League at-bat was of the utmost importance. He battled for the final spot on Oakland’s Opening Day roster, which was not decided until the final day of camp, then went on to become the club’s All-Star selection and bash 30 home runs.

This Spring Training is a complete 180 for Rooker. With significantly less pressure to perform as Oakland’s established cleanup hitter, the slugger has utilized his time in Arizona to experiment with his offensive game.

“I was able to take some at-bats to work on very specific things while not having to worry about what the results were,” Rooker said. “Focusing on the process and knowing that, if I gave up seven or eight at-bats to work on something, it was going to pay off when it really matters.”

Methodically searching for the right approach, Rooker has found the feeling he was looking for.

Over his past three games, Rooker is 5-for-9 with two homers, a double and five RBIs. His two-hit effort in Tuesday’s 7-7 tie against the Rangers at Surprise Stadium included an impressive three-run homer that cleared the A’s bullpen beyond left field and landed onto the berm.

The return to form for Rooker stems from a mechanical fix at the plate. Working closely with A’s director of hitting Darren Bush while hitting in the cage last week, he discovered a flaw in his setup that was throwing off his timing.

“When I’m going bad, it’s almost never my swing as much as it is a getting ready or load issue,” Rooker said. “If I feel like I’m getting ready the right way pre-pitch and loading the right way, my swing always follows that. I just kind of found something. I use a toe tap as my timing mechanism and I found a little trigger in a way that I was getting to my toe tap that put me on time a little bit more and put me in a better hitting position where my front foot landed.”

Last year was a career breakthrough for Rooker. After toiling mostly through the Minors in six professional seasons, he played 137 games for the A’s and hit 30 homers with 20 doubles, 69 RBIs and an .817 OPS. Now seemingly peaking at the right time with the start of the regular season just a week away, Rooker is building momentum for what the A’s hope can be an encore in 2024.

“Being able to have that different mindset and approach has been cool for me, and I think it’s going to be beneficial,” Rooker said. “It’s always good to be feeling your best the week before. Hopefully, I just keep that going into Opening Day.”

Blackburn blanks Cubs
Paul Blackburn turned in without question the strongest start of any A’s pitcher so far this spring. The right-hander held the Cubs hitless and faced the minimum over six scoreless innings on 63 pitches, with his only baserunner reaching via walk in the third.

When Blackburn is at his best, the 2022 All-Star generates plenty of weak contact and quick outs. That held true on Wednesday, as 15 of his 17 outs were recorded on four pitches or less.

“It gives you a little bit of confidence going into the year,” Blackburn said of his outing. “I was just happy with how I felt out there mechanically and timing-wise. Spring Training results aren’t the biggest factor. It’s more so just making sure that your body is ready and you feel like you’re ready to go with all your pitches. Today, I felt like I was able to throw any pitch whenever I wanted.”

Over three Cactus League starts, Blackburn has allowed four runs on eight hits and two walks with eight strikeouts across 12 innings.