Brent Rooker Hits 30th Home Run for Second Consecutive Season

Jason Burke | Aug 24, 2024

Aug 24, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics outfielder Brent Rooker (25) runs the bases after hitting a two run home run against the Milwaukee Brewers during the sixth inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports / Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports

In November of 2022, Brent Rooker was designated for assignment by the Kansas City Royals, and two days later the Oakland Athletics claimed him and added him to their roster. Heading into the 2023 season, Rooker was the final player to make the A's 26-man Opening Day roster out of camp. On Saturday he hit his 30th home run for the second consecutive season as a member of the green and gold, and he did it with Oakland across his chest in kelly green.

Rooker is now the first Oakland player to hit 30 home runs in back-to-back seasons since Khris Davis from 2016-18, and has tied his career-high with more than a month left in the season.

When asked what reaching the 30 home run milestone at this point in the season means to him, Rooker replied, "it means that I'm better than I was last year, which is always the goal. I'll just continue to improve myself and keep that kind of progress and keep that path going until I'm as good a player as I can be. I don't think I'm there yet."

Rooker is batting .289 on the year with a .366 OBP and a .935 OPS. That OPS ranks ninth in baseball, right behind Yordan Alvarez's .940. His 30 home runs ranks eighth in baseball, tied with Arizona's MVP candidate Ketel Marte, and his average is slotted 18th overall. He's become an incredible all-around hitter this season, and he still thinks there's another level for him to reach.

How he goes about getting to that level is up for debate, but he's going to take the same approach heading into next year that he did before the 2024 season. "Whether it's swing wise, approach wise, game-planning wise, mental skills, whatever it is, I just think that I can continue to get better and better, and that's gonna be my goal."

His swing is pretty tuned in, with his barrel% ranking in the 98th percentile, hard-hit rate in the 94th, and launch angle sweet spot in the 96th, so when he makes contact, he does damage. Sometimes, like on Saturday, he can still make good contact that leads to an out. He smoked a ball 107.1 miles per hour off the bat that resulted in a line out to left in the bottom of the first. He finished the day 3-for-4 with his milestone homer, a double, an intentional walk, and three runs batted in.

Rooker, 29, is under team control through the 2029 season, and was a player that was talked about heavily in trade rumors ahead of the deadline last month. Yet, as he told NBC Sports California, "I couldn’t be more thrilled to still be here. The guys in that clubhouse are a special group, we’re moving in the right direction and I’m excited to see where it goes.”