Mark Rogers

Mark Elliot Rogers

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 205 lb.
• High School Mount Ararat High School
• Debut September 10, 2010
• Final Game August 31, 2012
• Born January 30, 1986 in Brunswick, ME USA

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Biographical Information

Pitcher Mark Rogers was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the first round of the 2004 amateur draft with the fifth overall pick, following infielder Matt Bush and collegiate hurlers Justin Verlander, Philip Humber and Jeff Niemann. Rogers had gone 9-1 with a save and a 0.52 ERA as a high school senior, with 166 strikeouts to 14 hits in 67 innings. He won Gatorade Player of the Year honors. He was signed by scout Tony Blengino for a $2.2 million bonus.

Rogers made his pro debut that summer with the AZL Brewers, with whom he was 0-3 with a 4.73 ERRA in 9 appearances. Baseball America named him the #3 prospect in the Arizona League after Matt Tuiasosopo and Hernan Iribarren. He spent the next year with the West Virginia Power, going 2-9 with a 5.11 ERA in 25 games. Baseball America still ranked him as the #13 prospect in the South Atlantic League, between Gio Gonzalez and Greg Golson.

He split 2006 between the AZL Brewers and the Brevard County Manatees, going 1-2 with a 4.92 ERA in 19 starts between the two clubs. He missed the entire 2007 and 2008 seasons because of injuries, having surgery both years. Returning to the diamond in 2009, the 23-year-old looked very sharp with the Manatees (1-3, 1.67, 67 K in 64 2/3 IP, .201 opponent average). Had he qualified, he would have led the South Atlantic League in ERA.

Rogers started 2010 with the Huntsville Stars, going 6-8 with a 3.71 ERA and 111 strikeouts in 111 2/3 innings. He held opponents to a .210 average but walked 69. He allowed one run in 4 1/3 IP for the Nashville Sounds and was a September call-up to The Show. In his MLB debut, Mark entered in the 9th with a 4-0 deficit, replacing Kameron Loe on the hill against the Chicago Cubs. Fellow rookie Starlin Castro lined out, Marlon Byrd grounded out and Micah Hoffpauir struck out on a full count for a perfect debut. He put a 1.80 ERA in 10 major league innings over 4 games in his major league debut

On August 19, 2011, Rogers was suspended for 25 games for testing positive for a banned stimulant; he was pitching for the Class A Brevard County Manatees on an injury rehabilitation assignment at the time. As a result, he did not pitch in the big leagues that year. He was back with the Brewers at the end of July in 2012, when he was inserted in the starting rotation. He went 0-1, 4.94 in his first four starts before notching his first major league win on August 20th, a 9-5 victor over the Cubs. "It's been a long time coming," he commented after the game, reflecting on his eight years of professional baseball, four surgeries, and a number of bullpen failures in his previous starts. He benefited from an eight-run 5th inning that day, sparked by a three-run homer by his battery-mate Jonathan Lucroy to earn to elusive W.

Related Sites

• Mark Rogers on mlb.com