Rookie Rogers stands out among All-Stars

MIAMI -- Should Marlins rookie left-hander Trevor Rogers take the Coors Field mound during Tuesday night's 2021 All-Star Game, he will set foot in uncharted territory for the Land of Enchantment.

Rogers is the sixth player born in New Mexico to make an All-Star team, and the first from Carlsbad High School. Alumnus Cody Ross, Rogers' cousin, never went to a Midsummer Classic, but he did win the 2010 World Series with the Giants. Rogers could wind up sharing the stage with the sport's biggest stars, which is an opportunity beyond what he thought was possible.

"I'd probably laugh, to be honest, just from where I've come from," Rogers told MLB.com. "It doesn't really happen at all. I would be like, 'Oh, heck yeah, I'm for that.' But it would have been probably just a distant dream at that point."

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This won't be the first Midsummer Classic for Rogers. On June 15, 2019, the then-21-year-old pitched a scoreless fourth inning in the Florida State League All-Star Game at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. He and Jordan Holloway appeared in a 2-0 victory, while Edward Cabrera also made the team. Rogers' brother-in-law and one of his four older sisters were in attendance.

The lights certainly will be brighter, and the crowd bigger in Colorado. Rogers is excited for his twin sister, Teagan, to see him pitch for the first time since he was in high school. Other members of his family also will be in attendance.

So perhaps Rogers has been on an All-Star trajectory all along. Following her hiring last November, general manager Kim Ng did her homework on one of the organization's top prospects. After just five starts at the Double-A level, Rogers was called up out of necessity in 2020 because of the COVID-19 outbreak. But it wasn't hard to see the potential, with 12.5 strikeouts per nine innings despite a 1.61 WHIP in seven starts.

"We couldn't be more excited for Trevor, that he is going to represent our club," Ng said. "Even going back to the offseason when I was trying to get to know these guys and watching them on video, Trevor just had a great presence about him. I think that has definitely come to fruition, and we can see his maturity on the mound every five days."

While Ng watched film and read reports, Rogers and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. got to work over the offseason to improve upon his MLB debut. What stood out to Stottlemyre was the 23-year-old southpaw turning reflective, acknowledging that some things needed to change for him to be successful in The Show.

"The conversations that we had over the winter, there was something in the back of my mind that said, 'This guy's on a mission,'" Stottlemyre said. "And he really has a grasp and an understanding of what he needs to do to get to that next level and get over the hump. I reminded him how good he was in a lot of the things that he pitched. There were some crooked numbers, and there were some things that went on in those innings that we need to overcome. And I'll be damned if he didn't come back and really quickly get better in those situations. Now it's continuing to learn more about the league and patterns, how guys are game planning and figure out who would win."

Rogers, the only rookie on the National League roster, paces first-year Major League pitchers in wins, ERA and strikeouts. He plans to use the All-Star festivities to connect with his more experienced peers.

From a veteran's daily routine to mentality, Rogers wants to learn, get better and push himself. He looks up to those who have been in the game and pitched at the highest level for so long.

"Really, just being a part of the greatest players to play this game, all in one field and playing a nine-inning game," Rogers said. "That's probably what I'm most looking forward to. I get to pitch against some of the best hitters in the world."