Rooker 'taking advantage of his opportunity'

This story was excerpted from Martín Gallegos’ A’s Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

OAKLAND -- Frustrated by a lack of big league opportunities last season despite a strong season at Triple-A, Brent Rooker joined the A’s hoping to finally get that extended look. With Seth Brown’s oblique injury creating an opening in left field, Rooker is seizing the moment.

Rooker has emerged as Oakland’s hottest hitter. His tear continued in Friday night’s 17-6 loss to the Mets, as the outfielder crushed his fourth home run in the past three days as part of a two-hit effort. After going hitless over his first eight at-bats of the season, Rooker is 9-for-18 (.500) since then, with four homers and 11 RBIs over his last five games.

“Kid’s taking advantage of his opportunity,” manager Mark Kotsay said of Rooker. “He’s really swinging the bat well.”

For Rooker, not much has changed from the start of the season. The only difference now is that the hits are falling more frequently. A quick look at the StatCast numbers will back this up.

Entering Friday, Rooker led all Major Leaguers in average exit velocity (min. 10 balls put in play) at 99.6 mph and ranked in the 80th percentile of Major League hitters in max exit velocity. His 401-foot solo shot against Mets reliever Stephen Nogosek on Friday night was another well-struck ball, crushed 103.9 mph off the bat.

“I’ve liked where my approach has been,” Rooker said. “I like where my game plan is. I’m sticking to it, putting good swings on pitches, and the results kind of follow that.”

The A’s have long been intrigued by Rooker’s potential, going back to his days as an amateur standout at Mississippi State before he was selected by the Twins in the first round of the 2017 MLB Draft.

With Brown likely not returning until June at the earliest, Rooker will continue to receive ample playing time with a chance to establish himself at the highest level. Doing so wouldn’t exactly come as a shock when you consider his track record of success throughout the Minors. In five Minor League seasons, he holds a career .909 OPS with 102 home runs.