Trevor Rogers was always capable of being a star pitcher. After all, his rookie season saw him finish third in NL Rookie of the Year voting after posting a 2.64 ERA in 25 games for the Miami Marlins.
Sometime after that campaign, Rogers lost his confidence, and after a couple of IL, he never could regain his form, forcing the Marlins to give up on developing him any further.
The Orioles came calling, having lost interest in one of their own developmental players as well. So, the Marlins offered the lefty Rogers in exchange for outfielder Kyle Stowers and infielder Connor Norby.
In the beginning, it looked like the Marlins had the upper hand in the trade, as Stowers and Norby seemed to show off their talents while Rogers made four starts and posted a 7.11 ERA before being demoted to Triple-A.
Then, Rogers dislocated his knee in January, and, surprisingly, it ended up being the best freak accident that could have happened to the 27-year-old lefty.
During his rehab, while not being able to compete for a spot in spring training, it dawned on Rogers that he was wasting what could be his final opportunity to prove himself once more in the big leagues.
A quick spot start in May showed Rogers that he might be on to something. Pitching 6.1 innings of two-hit ball against a dangerous Boston Red Sox team at Fenway, Rogers proved he still has the moxie to compete against the best.
The call came once again on June 18, and since then, Rogers has been one of the top pitchers in not only the AL but all of baseball.
August showed just how dominant Rogers truly has become, as he took the mound six times in the month and walked away with a 3-1 record but kept an ERA of 1.29 and a miniscule WHIP of 0.86 across 42 innings of work.
Not one start did Rogers pitch fewer than six innings. He struck out 41 and walked just six while allowing just one home run, holding opponents to a .199 average. Impressively, he threw 570 pitches, with 72% of them going for strikes during the month.
Rogers’ fantastic August led to him being named AL Pitcher of the Month, an honor that is well-earned after six quality starts.
For the season, Rogers has appeared in 14 games and has compiled an 8-2 record while posting a 1.39 ERA (an Orioles record through 14 appearances as a starter) and a 0.82 WHIP through 90.1 innings of work. Opponents are slashing .172/.220/.232/.452 with only 11 extra-base hits against the crafty southpaw.
Rogers has collected 81 strikeouts to 19 walks and has hit just one batter. Opponents have a .219 BABIP, while Rogers has tossed 12 quality starts in his 14 appearances.
Welcome to Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood. It’s his mound. Others are just using it.
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