Kevin Rogers

Charles Kevin Rogers

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 2", Weight 190 lb.
• School Mississippi Delta Community College
• High School Cleveland (MS) High School
• Debut September 4, 1992
• Final Game May 1, 1994
• Born August 20, 1968 in Cleveland, MS USA

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Biographical Information

Kevin Rogers was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the ninth round of the 1988 amateur draft.

He began his professional career as a starter in 1988 with the Pocatello Giants, going 2-8 with a 6.20 ERA in 13 starts. Although his season as a whole was unimpressive, he did strike out 71 batters in 69 2/3 innings of work, which is a notable accomplishment.

In 1989, he greatly improved overall. Pitching for the Clinton Giants, Rogers made 29 appearances, starting 28 of the games. He went 13-8 with a 2.55 ERA, while allowing only 128 hits in 169 1/3 innings of work and striking out 168 batters.

Rogers had another impressive year in 1990, going 14-5 with a 3.61 ERA while striking out 186 batters in 172 innings. Although he walked only 68 batters and allowed only 143 hits, he did throw 19 wild pitches, which is a rather high amount.

In 22 games for the Shreveport Captains in 1991, Rogers went 4-6 with a 3.36 ERA. He also struck out 108 batters in 118 innings of work. He was ranked the 89th best prospect by [[Baseball America]] in 1991.

Rogers split time between the Shreveport Captains and Phoenix Firebirds in 1992, going a combined 11-8 with a 3.16 ERA. In 170 2/3 innings, he struck out 172 batters while walking only 51. On September 4th, he made his big league debut. Facing Ozzie Smith and the rest of the St. Louis Cardinals, Rogers pitched six innings, allowing three earned runs on eight hits and two walks. He allowed one home run, which he gave up to the first batter he faced – Geronimo Pena. Although he had proven himself to be a strikeout pitcher in the minors, he struck out only one batter in his first major league start – that batter being Ray Lankford. Rogers pitched respectably in his first major league season, going 0-2 with a 4.24 ERA in 6 starts. He struck out 26 batters in 34 innings of work.

Although Rogers had been a starter throughout his entire career, he found his niche as a reliever in 1993. In 64 relief appearances, he went 2-2 with a 2.68 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 80 2/3 innings of work. Before the season, he was ranked the 50th best prospect by Baseball America.

While Rogers was a promising player, his major league career didn’t last very long – in fact, 1994 was his final season. He made only 9 relief appearances due to a blood clot in his pitching shoulder [1], posting a 3.48 ERA in 10 1/3 innings of work. He played his final big league game on May 1st of that year.

Despite never pitching in the majors again, Rogers pitched in the minors until 1998. In 1995, he appeared in a total of 7 games - 5 of which were starts – while splitting time between San Jose and Phoenix. Combined, he went 0-2 with a 2.51 ERA in 14 1/3 innings of work. He struck out a total of 6 batters.

Pitching for San Jose in 1997 (he missed all of 1996), Rogers went 0-0 with a 2.76 ERA in 8 games started. In 29 1/3 innings of work, he struck out 27 batters. He also pitched a few games in the Atlanta Braves organization that year, for the Richmond Braves. He made 10 relief appearances for them, going 0-2 with a 7.36 ERA. Combined, he went 0-2 with a 4.02 ERA. In 40 1/3 innings of work, he struck out 36 batters.

1998 would be Rogers’ final season in professional baseball. Used almost entirely as a reliever, he made 40 total appearances for the Bakersfield Blaze, Shreveport Captains and Fresno Grizzlies. He went 2-1 with a 5.03 ERA in 62 2/3 innings of work, striking out 52 batters.

Overall, Kevin Rogers went 2-4 with a 3.17 ERA in 79 major league appearances. In 125 innings, he allowed 118 hits, struck out 95 batters and walked 47 batters. In eight minor league seasons, Rogers went 46-40 with a 3.59 ERA in 184 games (131 starts). In 817 innings, he allowed only 744 hits, walking 321 batters and striking out 799.