For Carlsbad's Trevor Rogers 2019 was a year of significant progress
Current Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp pitcher Trevor Rogers appears to be on the fast track to The Show after his sophomore season in professional baseball saw him named to an All-Star team before being promoted up a league mid-season.
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Jupiter Hammerheads (Florida State League, Advanced-A)
Rogers was the opening day pitcher for the Hammerheads and was the starter for 18 games. Rogers went 5-8 with a 2.53 ERA, pitching in 110.1 innings, allowing 97 hits, 45 runs (31 earned). He gave up seven home runs and hit six batters. Rogers walked 24 batters and struck out 122.
Rogers pitched the second-most innings of any Hammerhead, had the fourth-most starts and had the lowest ERA of any pitcher with more than 12 starts.
The previous year Rogers pitched with Single-A Greensboro for 17 games and he showed improvement across the board. His ERA dropped from 5.82 to 2.53 even though he pitched in 40 additional innings in Jupiter. Rogers also allowed three fewer runs, 16 fewer earned runs and struck out 37 additional batters.
Hammerheads pitching coach Reid Cornelius attributed the improved stats to Rogers making a lot of tiny changes.
"His breaking ball got better," Cornelius said. "He started using a cutter so he can add and subtract from his breaking ball. His slider got a little lower so he could add depth. His change-up made steps, too.
"I just think him being on the mound and healthy for a full year helped. You could see his steady progress. He kept getting better and better. By the time June and July rolled around he was probably as good as a pitcher could be in the league."
FSL All-Star selection
That hard work earned Rogers a selection to the Florida South League All-Star Game. Rogers threw one inning of work, allowed no runs and struck out two of the four batters he faced.
Rogers himself didn't know if he was going to get called up after the FSL All-Star outing and was okay with the possibility that he'd be in Jupiter the rest of the season.
"Everything was going great," Rogers said. "Everything was clicking and I was having good outing after good outing. I was thinking that I'm two years removed from high school and thought (the organization) was going to take it slow so I was planning on enjoying the rest of the season (in Jupiter)."
Cornelius wasn't surprised by the promotion mid-season.
"It was a situation where he came up pretty quick," he said. "We weren't sure exactly what day he was moving so I didn't get to say goodbye in person. As these guys progress I tell them their (pitching) is good and to trust themselves and continue to do what they're doing.
"The hitters above will let you know if something needs to be adjusted. I don't think you need to change your game when you move up the ladder. I say keep doing what you're doing. A big step for Trevor will be more power to his slider. He's been trying to increase that and get more depth."
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Southern League, AA)
The Marlins organization was happy with all the progress and decided a mid-season promotion was in order.
The official announcement of Rogers' promotion took place Aug. 3, 2019, just when Rogers was going to play in front of some old friends and family before having to drop everything and get ready to move.
"My high school coach (Cody May), his wife, my girlfriend and her parents all flew out to Florida to see me pitch," Rogers said. "They haven't seen me pitch since high school. The game ended up getting rained out so we went out to eat.
"We were getting ready to buy tickets to a movie when my trainer (Gregory Bourne) calls me and asks if the manager (Todd Pratt) has called me yet. When I said no he said I should probably call him. I call him and he doesn't answer. So for about 30 minutes I'm wondering what is going on."
Still waiting for the callback from Pratt, Rogers gets another call from Bourne. When Rogers said he hadn't heard back, he was told to act surprised when Pratt did call him back and Bourne sent Rogers his itinerary.
"I get the itinerary at 7 p.m. and my flight leaves at 5 a.m. the next day," Rogers said. "I had to go back and pack everything up. Jacksonville's four hours away from Jupiter but the team was in Mississippi so I had to fly out there."
Rogers packed up everything in his condo and had his girlfriend and girlfriend's parents drive his vehicle to Jacksonville so his stuff would be waiting for him when he came back from the road trip.
"This was definitely a goal of mine," Rogers said. "Early in spring training I wanted to play the majority of the year at FSL High-A. I wanted to get about five starts in Double-A and if I didn't, it would have been okay. I'd just start early the next season."
Just like he wanted at the beginning of the season, Rogers came to Jacksonville in the final month of the season and did get five starts for the Marlins AA affiliate. He made his time there count. Rogers went 1-2, this time only needing three starts to notch his first win in a new division.
The Aug. 17 game against the Tennessee Smokies was his best game in AA. He pitched seven complete innings, striking out 10 batters, allowing just two hits and one walk. Rogers threw 94 pitches had had 67 percent of them go for strikes. Jacksonville won the game, 2-0.
Rogers said it was a little bit of an adjustment, he had to get rid of a lot of adrenaline after the move and then started working with his new pitching coach, Bruce Walton, and finished the season well.
Rogers said it was the confidence of his time in Jupiter that helped him avoid serious growing pains in Jacksonville.
"The hitters are more polished the higher up you go," Cornelius said. "That shows Trevor's still improving. He's only 21 so he's still learning his body and his mechanics."
Cornelius believes once Rogers finishes growing and puts on a little more weight he'll be able to solely focus on his mechanics rather than having to adjust while he still fills into his 6-foot 6-inch frame.
The off-season
Rogers does not have to return to Jacksonville until the middle of February. He's staying in shape, but spending more time with family and not worrying about baseball itself. Rogers spends every Monday working on his lower body, Tuesday his upper body and Wednesday is core day.
Through November Rogers was more focused on building strength than anything else and since December Rogers added cardio into his workouts.
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Rogers still hasn't picked up a baseball to throw since his final game of the season and has been able to enjoy the fruits of his labor with a few vacations. He enjoyed watching other sporting events in the state of Florida during the season and admitted he didn't know the NHL team Florida Panthers were located in Miami when we went to see a game.
"I worked hard so I spoil myself a little bit," he said. "We went to Las Vegas last year. I got to see a George Straight concert when the rodeo was in Vegas. It was the first time I had been there and it was really fun."
2020 and beyond
With the pitching position being one of the most expensive positions in the MLB, teams usually make sure their draft picks and prospects are ready to be called up to The Show before signing them a large contract. This means spending multiple seasons in the various minor leagues to make sure players are physically and mentally able to handle the strain of playing under the bright lights.
That may not be the case for Rogers if he stays with the Miami Marlins organization, which finished last year 57-104, the worst record in the National League.
"Everyone knows Miami is rebuilding," Rogers said. "It was at instructs last year (Fall Instructional League) where we had one-on-one camps. I didn't have enough innings last year so I went there to spend more one-on-one time with the pitching coach to fix up some stuff.
"(Miami Marlins part-owner) Derek Jeter came by and explained to us that (the Marlins season) was a horrible one and we've got to do better and all that jazz. He said the best players will be playing in Miami. It doesn't matter how long or how short you've been here. So if we keep performing they'll make room on the roster and find space.
"That was lucky I was drafted by the Marlins. They're going to be a good organization for many years to come, especially now that they want all the young guys up there as soon as possible."
The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp begin the 2020 season on the road against the Mississippi Braves on April 9. The first home game for the Crustacean Nation takes place April 15 against the Biloxi Shuckers.
Matthew Asher can be reached at 575-628-5524, masher@currentargus.com or @Caveman_Masher on Twitter.