Since Josh Rogers has arrived in D.C., he has done nothing but perform. With his injury behind him, is Rogers’s recent performance the real deal?
When Josh Rogers was called up on September 4 by the Nationals to make a spot start in a doubleheader against the Mets, no one expected much. At the time, Rogers had started the season with the Orioles, but after struggling at AAA, they cut ties. Washington scooped the 27-year-old off of minors and sent him to their AAA affiliate.
In his Nationals debut, Rogers held the Mets to three runs across 5.2 innings, while striking out five. The coaching staff liked what they saw from the righty because they kept him on the roster and he has made two starts since. Through three starts in D.C., Rogers is 1-0, with a 2.60 ERA, 12 strikeouts, and a 4.49 FIP.
Three starts is a mighty small sample size, but Rogers is quickly making a case for him to join the team’s 2022 rotation. Despite his struggles with the Os, he has slowly started to turn a corner.
His FIP shows that he has been bailed out by his defense, but in Rogers’s most recent start, he showed a glimpse of what the Orioles saw when they originally acquired him. Against Miami, he threw five scoreless innings, allowing only one hit, striking out a career-high six, and walking one.
Rogers’s most recent performance brought up an important question. Why did the Orioles let this guy go?
Drafted by the Yankees in 2015, Rogers showed promise a year later in his first full season in the minors. Over 136.1 innings between A and High-A, he went 12-6, with a 2.38 ERA, and 115 strikeouts.
After continuing to climb the Yankees farm system, in 2018 he was traded alongside two others to Baltimore for Zach Britton. He finally made his MLB debut that season, allowing 11 runs in 11.2 innings. After struggling during the 2019 season, he underwent Tommy John surgery and missed all 0f 2020 due to the Minor League season being canceled due to COVID. Over his two seasons with the Os, he went 1-3, with an 8.65 ERA, 11 strikeouts, and an 8.57 FIP.
Now that he is finally back to full strength, Rogers already has more strikeouts with the Nats (12, 17.1 IP), than he did in Baltimore (11, 26 IP). His energy has been infectious and is perfect for a rebuilding club. He still has to prove himself, but at first glance, Rogers has already started to leave his mark.