Brent Rooker Named Athletics All-Star

Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

July 4, 2023

Brent Rooker was announced as an All-Star Game reserve and will be the lone Oakland Athletics representative. I know what you are thinking, the Athletics have an All-Star? Well, yes, every team gets one, so by process of elimination, it’s Rooker. This was obviously a very big deal for Rooker, making his first ever All-Star Game appearance.

In a post game press conference Rooker said, “I never allowed myself to think I could make an All-Star team, so this is even shocking for me. It’s more than I expected, even for myself.” Humbling words from one of the bigger surprise players in the bigs this season. Although he has been struggling as of late, Rooker got off to one of the hottest starts in baseball. It clearly made an impact on players around the league. The All-Star alternates were voted on by other players, not fan vote like the starters.

Brent Rooker’s Journey to Becoming an All-Star

This is what dreams are made of ✨ pic.twitter.com/p3NjfxnxSh

— Oakland A’s (@Athletics) July 2, 2023

Rooker was drafted in the 38th round of the 2016 Amateur Draft by the Minnesota Twins out of Mississippi State. Making his debut in 2020, Rooker played two season for the Twins totaling 234 plate appearances. He had a .210 batting average to go with a .713 OPS and a 96 OPS+, pretty average numbers. Where he did show potential was his power, hitting 10 home runs and 12 doubles.

2022 was a year of travel for Rooker, being a part of two separate trades and three different organizations. He was part of a trade that sent him from the Twins to the San Diego Padres along with Taylor Rogers. The Twins received Chris Paddack and Emilio Pagan. Later that season he was then traded again, this time from the Padres to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for catcher Cam Gallagher. In 36 plate appearances in 2022, Rooker hit .125 with a 11 OPS+. It is no wonder why he was available for the Athletics to take a chance on him going into 2023.

Breakout Season

2023 has been a breakout season for Brent Rooker and it started immediately. In April he was one of baseball’s best hitters, slashing .358/.471/.791 with a 1.262 OPS, nine home runs, and 22 RBI. Rooker was loudly making it known that he was a legitimate threat in the middle of the Oakland lineup.

Since April, it has been a bit of a struggle for him. On the season, he has 277 plate appearances, slashing .243/.399/.477 with a .816 OPS, 132 OPS+, 14 home runs, and 41 RBI. Rooker currently leads all Athletics in home runs, RBI, SLG, and xwOBA. According to Baseball Savant, he is top 20% of all hitters in Max Exit Velocity, HardHit%, Barrel%, and BB%. For much of the season, Rooker was the only batter in the lineup that opposing pitchers even had to pay attention to.

Who Rooker Beat Out

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In my opinion, there were three other Athletics who could have also made this All-Star Game — leadoff hitter Esteury Ruiz, left-handed first baseman Ryan Noda, and starting pitcher JP Sears. There was some debate over whether Rooker was the right candidate online, so we will briefly go over these three players’ resumes.

Esteury Ruiz

Esteury Ruiz has been the most exciting and versatile player on the Athletics roster this season. Possibly the fastest player in the league, Ruiz leads all players with 42 stolen bases. He is on track to be the first player in the 21st Century to steal 80 bases in a season. The last to do so were Rickey Henderson and Vince Coleman, who both achieved this feat in 1988. On the season, Ruiz is hitting .258/.312/.331 with an 88 OPS+. Getting it done on all sides of the game, he is in the top 20% of the league in Outs Above Average (OAA).

Ryan Noda

Ryan Noda has been a great surprise for the Athletics this season, doing his best to fill the void left by Matt Olson at first base. Noda has been an on-base machine this year. His OBP currently sits a .384, 10th best in the majors and fourth best in the AL. His 57 walks this season are good for third in the majors, trailing only Juan Soto and Ian Happ. He currently leads all AL hitters in walks. Noda currently leads all Athletics in walks, runs, OBP, wOBP, wRC+, and fWAR.

JP Sears

JP Sears has the opposite ascension as Rooker this season. He struggled in April, getting his first shot full-time in a rotation. Since April, he has been one of the best pitchers in baseball. In May and June, Sears has thrown 61 1/3 innings with a 3.67 ERA and a .211 OBA. Sears leads Oakland starters in BB/9, BABIP, LOB%, and ERA. He has been the most consistent starter the Athletics have this year. Sears also makes up part of one of the only successful trades the front office has had in recent years. He was part of the deal that sent Frankie Months and Lou Trevino to the New York Yankees.