On November 17, 2022, Brent Rooker was picked up off waivers by the then-Oakland Athletics just 16 days after his 28th birthday. After an illustrious college career with Mississippi State, where he was named the SEC Player of the Year in 2017, Rooker’s professional career seemed like it was nearing its end.
After failing to stick on the big league rosters of the Twins, Padres and Royals, the A’s seemed like Rooker’s last shot at playing in the MLB. He won a roster spot after spring training and hasn’t looked back since, signing a five-year, $60 million contract extension this offseason.
In two seasons with the A’s, Brent Rooker has become one of the best hitters in baseball. Rooker broke out in 2023, making his first ever All-Star team while hitting 30 home runs, 69 RBIs and slashing .246/.329/.488.
Even though Rooker’s performance was celebrated, there were reasons for skepticism. A breakout season at 28 years old after bouncing around four different organizations is usually a sign that his success wouldn’t last.
Other late-career players have posted breakout seasons, but they’ve mostly been one-season wonders. Joey Meneses of the Washington Nationals in 2023 and Jared Walsh of the Los Angeles Angels in 2023 serve as prime examples of this.
But Rooker’s 2023 numbers suggested that he could remain a power threat in the league after his breakout season. His barrel and hard-hit percentages were above the 90th percentile, signaling his elite thump, but he had trouble making contact. His whiff rate sat at 1% and strikeout rate was at 4%, some of the worst numbers in the league.
Last season, Rooker adjusted to make more contact and became a star for an A’s team in disarray, with their move away from Oakland looming in the horizon.
Rooker slashed .293/.365/.562, improving each category by at least 45 points. His 39 home runs were fifth in MLB and 112 RBI were fourth, leading to a 10th place finish in the American League MVP voting. And yet, he somehow didn’t make the All-Star team.
His major improvement last year came from simply making more contact, especially on sliders. His batting average jumped from .143 in 2023 to .306 last season, with his slugging percentage increasing over 450 points.
Yes, he did have 177 strikeouts last season, but the A’s can live with it knowing that Rooker hit close to .300 and finished a home run shy of 40 for the season.
Rooker’s veteran presence for the next five years will be tremendous for an A’s team on the rise and in search of a new identity as they’ll play their home games in Sacramento until they make the move to Las Vegas in 2028.
His presence in the middle of the lineup will help out a young A’s team with plenty of prospects soaring through the ranks, including Lawrence Butler, who broke out in the second half of the season.
The 24-year old mashed 13 home runs to a tune of a .898 OPS after the All-Star break, solidifying himself as a potential All-Star next year alongside Rooker.
Rooker can become an even better version of himself in Sacramento by playing in Sutter Health Park, the home to the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats. The dimensions are smaller than the Oakland Coliseum, meaning he might put up numbers similar to when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. finished as AL MVP runner-up in 2021 when the Blue Jays spent the season playing in their spring training stadium in Florida.
Nonetheless, look for Rooker to continue to mash in the middle of the A’s lineup no matter what ballpark he plays in next season.