Mark Rogers: how is his arm? Latest: Baseball America with an Exciting Update

Mass Haas · April 4, 2009

Thanks for the leg work dissecting that box score line, X.

foamboy1 · April 4, 2009

Maybe it's the uniform or the angle, but Mark doesn't look in the best of shape. Granted he was 18 when he was drafted, but he looks 20 or more pounds heavier, especially in the lower body. I hope he makes it through the season without injury, and then really builds in the offseason to emerge as a good prospect again in 2010. I'm looking forward to hear about his fastball, but I think making it through the season without incident places him in line to really build himself next offseason with 2010 being his key, potential breakthrough year.

foamboy1 · April 4, 2009

Maybe it's the uniform or the angle, but Mark doesn't look in the best of shape. Granted he was 18 when he was drafted, but he looks 20 or more pounds heavier, especially in the lower body. I hope he makes it through the season without injury, and then really builds in the offseason to emerge as a good prospect again in 2010. I'm looking forward to hear about his fastball, but I think making it through the season without incident places him in line to really build himself next offseason with 2010 being his key, potential breakthrough year.

PlayerHader · April 4, 2009

I don't think it is strange at all for an 18 year old to put on a lot of weight once they get into a professional (or even college) conditioning program. A couple pitchers that I faced in hs went on to college and after seeing them a few years later they were noticeably bigger, especially their calves.

PlayerHader · April 4, 2009

I don't think it is strange at all for an 18 year old to put on a lot of weight once they get into a professional (or even college) conditioning program. A couple pitchers that I faced in hs went on to college and after seeing them a few years later they were noticeably bigger, especially their calves.

DHonks · April 4, 2009

I like how good of an athlete he looks like. He has a solid build. There aren't many good pitchers that are built like runners. Having a strong base should help him.

DHonks · April 4, 2009

I like how good of an athlete he looks like. He has a solid build. There aren't many good pitchers that are built like runners. Having a strong base should help him.

Never Outhustled · April 10, 2009

So far, so good for Mr. Rogers. Congrats to him. I was worried nerves might hurt him tonight. Its great to see him get some validation for his hard work. Anybody listen to the audio and get a radar gun reading on him?

Never Outhustled · April 10, 2009

So far, so good for Mr. Rogers. Congrats to him. I was worried nerves might hurt him tonight. Its great to see him get some validation for his hard work. Anybody listen to the audio and get a radar gun reading on him?

DHonks · April 10, 2009

Congrats for Mark. I would assume he was pitching to contact. That means his control can't be quite as wild as what we heard in spring training. Hopefully over time he continues to build arm strength and learn from this injury. I'm really pulling for him and his teammate, Mike Jones.

DHonks · April 10, 2009

Congrats for Mark. I would assume he was pitching to contact. That means his control can't be quite as wild as what we heard in spring training. Hopefully over time he continues to build arm strength and learn from this injury. I'm really pulling for him and his teammate, Mike Jones.

Mass Haas · April 15, 2009

Link while active, text follows:

BY RACHEL LENZI, MaineToday.com

Friday in Viera, Fla., Mark Rogers made his first professional start since Aug. 18, 2006, after undergoing two surgeries on his right shoulder.

Rogers, a right-hander from Orr's Island and Mt. Ararat High School, pitched three scoreless innings in his first start of the season with the Brevard County Manatees -- a Brewers' farm team -- in the Class A Florida State League. He will make his second start Thursday when Brevard County faces the Tampa Yankees.

Rogers threw 44 pitches, giving up two hits, a walk, and striking out one in a 7-6 loss to Daytona. The Brewers wanted him to throw no more than 50 pitches.

"I stuck to my strengths," said Rogers, 23, whom Milwaukee selected fifth overall in the 2004 amateur draft. "I watched the team the night before and took notes, and when it came time to pitch, I stuck to my game plan.

"Having a game plan and staying within yourself is a plus. When you're younger, you're just pitching, and that's the name of the game but there's a way to accomplish it. It's more methodical, and it's not about being gung-ho."

Reid Nichols, director of player development for the Brewers, expects Rogers to remain on a limited pitch count through the first half of the season with Brevard County. Nichols said that Class A -- with a 25-man roster, as opposed to 24 at Double-A -- is ideal for a pitcher on a limited pitch count to develop. The Brewers' medical staff, he said, will determine if and when his pitch count could increase to up to 75 a game.

"We don't want to extend him too far and we don't want to overtax him," Nichols said. "We're all hopeful he will be a major-league starter for us. But we're patient as he works through this."

Rogers, 23, spent the summer of 2004 in the Arizona Rookie League, the 2005 season with the low-Class A West Virginia Power and the first half of 2006 with Brevard County before he injured his right shoulder during a game. Six months later, after going through physical therapy, Rogers underwent surgery to repair a labral tear and to tighten a loose ligament in his shoulder. He sat out the next two seasons of baseball. Last June, Rogers underwent a second surgery to remove scar tissue that developed after the first surgery. A day after the surgery, Rogers said he started rehabilitation and resumed workouts, focusing first on range-of-motion exercises and progressing to a point where, six weeks later, he began throwing.

In October, Rogers began throwing bullpen sessions in an instructional league in Arizona. Rogers took four weeks off for a hunting trip to Saskatchewan in November with his father, and when he resumed throwing right before the holidays -- and right after the Brewers added him to the 40-man roster -- he felt a difference. Rogers has been actively pitching since the start of spring training in February.

"I was very fortunate to be around a lot of very good pitchers during my rehabilitation, guys like Mike Jones and Chris Capuano, and I owe a lot to my pitching coach, Steve Cline," Rogers said. "He's helped me so much, with the mental side of the game, the correct way to go about business and to be a professional."

Rogers said that since his first surgery, he has become a student of the game, whether he was working out at the ballpark, throwing, or watching other players.

"Rehab is a grind," said Rogers, who lives in Arizona in the offseason. "It's hard because some of the guys I was drafted with and some of my good friends are in the big leagues now.

"But you also learn about the game through the process and I've found that I've improved. My body strength is better, my endurance is better and my pitching is better."

Mass Haas · April 15, 2009