Brent Rooker

Rooker went from being designated for assignment by the Royals in November of 2022 to becoming a bona fide breakout slugger for the Athletics in 2023. He was one of only 29 major leaguers to reach the 30-homer plateau and he posted the 14th-highest OPS (.817) among all qualified American League hitters. Rooker strikes out often and is probably never going to be a good source for batting average, but his power stroke sure appears to be a bankable asset. He finished in the 93rd percentile last year in barrel percentage and was in the 91st percentile in hard-hit rate. The 29-year-old is going to have to make a lot of noise on his own as part of a mostly punchless Oakland offense, but that poor supporting cast at least assures him everyday at-bats in a fruitful lineup spot. Read Past Outlooks