TwinsCentric: Prospect Retrospective, LHP Taylor Rogers

Left-hander Taylor Rogers was the 11th round draft pick of the Minnesota Twins out of the University of Kentucky in June of 2012. He has gradually, but very consistently, worked his way up the Twins farm system as a starter. After a solid big league spring training as a relief pitcher, he is now on the cusp of being a big leaguer.
Today seems like a good day to take a look back at the career of Rogers and his prospect status as he has moved up. Who knows? With the state of the Twins bullpen, he could literally be called up anytime, so let's take a look back at his career to this point.

BACKGROUND
Taylor Rogers was born 25 years ago in Littleton, Colorado. As he said in an article in the 2014 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook, he grew up a Rockies fan and often went to games. "We went to a bunch of games every year and always kept close tabs on how the season was going. The $1 tickets up in the nose-bleed section was a staple for us."
His Chatfield High School was consistently one of the best teams in the state of Colorado. There were a lot of very good players from the school. One of those talented players is Taylor's twin brother Tyler who started the 2016 season at AA with the Giants organization. "We never took it easy on one another, which I believe, helped us get to where we are," said Taylor.
COLLEGE
Taylor Rogers was drafted in the 37th round of the 2009 draft out of high school, but he chose to go to the University of Kentucky where he played under Coach Gary Henderson.
The Twins have had quite the pipeline in from Kentucky in recent years including lefties Andrew Albers and Logan Darnell, and right-hander Alex Meyer.
According to Henderson (from a 2013 interview for this Twins Daily article on the Kentucky connection), "He had really good arm action. He threw strikes. He looked like he would fill out and get better. He had a really good frame. Most impressive about him were his work ethic, drive and honesty. The character issues with her were outstanding."
Kentucky plays baseball in the very strong SEC. It is a league where not a lot of freshman jump into the starting rotation. Rogers did and his numbers showed it, but over his three years with the school, he continued to improve.
Who knows? Twins fans are welcomed to dream that Taylor Rogers can have the same affect on the Twins in his rookie season that another UK alum Karl-Anthony Towns had on the Timberwolves. (OK, slight exaggeration and very different roles in very different games.)
THE DRAFT
The Twins drafted him in the 11th round in 2012 following his junior season at Kentucky. Tim O'Neill was a Twins scout and national cross-checker who saw Rogers several times. O'Neill said "He was a three-year starter, and we saw him pitch a lot. His stuff was light, but he knew how to pitch and compete. His hits per nine were high, but he had pitches, and he threw it over."
Sometimes, there are fun stories that lead up to the draft. With Rogers, O'Neil said that some intangibles, such as character, come into play. O'Neill recounted, "During the winter prior to Taylor's junior season, I was work out a former UK pitcher and quarterback, Shane Boyd. That day, our usual catcher couldn't make it, so Taylor volunteered to catch Boyd - in shorts, no cup, with his pitching glove. Boyd threw hard with a heavy ball and erratic command. Taylor gutted out numerous balls in the dirt and never flinched. It was pretty impressive."
PRO CAREER
2012
Upon signing, Rogers was sent to Elizabethton where he made six starts and posted a 1.80 ERA. He was promoted to Beloit and finished the season with four more starts and five relief appearances. He had a 2.70 ERA with the Snappers. In a combined 63.1 innings, he walked 17 and struck out 74.
2013
Rogers began his first full season back in the Midwest League where he was given the Opening Night nod in the first Cedar Rapids Kernels game as a Twins affiliate. He made just three starts with the Kernels, and although he didn't pitch particularly well in the cold he was quickly promoted to Ft. Myers where he was terrific. He went 11-6 with a 2.55 ERA with a 1.16 WHIP.
He was named by Twins Daily a the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year.
2014
Rogers moved up to New Britain for the 2014 season and posted the same 11-6 record. His ERA was a solid 3.29 and he had a WHIP of 1.29. His K/9 rate moved up to 7.0 while his walk rate stayed at 2.3.
He ended the season with a stint in the Arizona Fall League. His brother Tyler played in the AFL that season as well. Unfortunately, Rogers was hit by a line drive early in the AFL season and missed most of the seven-week season. He returned right at the end of the season.
2015
With his solid 2015, Rogers earned an invitation to big league spring training as a non-roster invite. Though he didn't pitch much in big league games, he used the experience to learn a lot.
Rogers again moved up, this time to AAA Rochester.Overall,he went 11-12 with a 3.98 ERA in 174 innings. He seemed to tire late and saw his numbers fall a bit the last six weeks of the season. He was again sent to the Arizona Fall League. The thought was that he would pitch out of the bullpen, but since the Twins sent three other relievers to the AFL, Rogers ended up starting. He pitched quite well. He posted a 2.88 ERA in 25 innings, and he was the starter and winning pitcher in the AFL Championship game as well. In total, he threw 202 innings in 2015.
2016
With those splits, and the domination against left-handers, Rogers was an easy choice to be added to the Twins 40-man roster. Immediately, there was talk about him being a legitimate option as a bullpen guy, a lefty reliever, early in the 2016 season.
He made his Twins Fest debut, and he was given a legit opportunity to earn a spot on the Opening Day 25-man roster. He was given appearances. He struggled early, but he pitched well late. Late in camp, he was optioned to Rochester to start the season.
The Red Wings have played just five games this year, and Rogers has pitched in just one. He pitched two innings in the outing. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out on in a scoreless appearance.
SCOUTING
Rogers is long and lanky. He is listed at 6-3 and 170 pounds. He throws from a ¾ slot. He has become a solid, reliable pitcher that you can count on most times out. In his 28 appearances for Rochester in 2015, he failed to go five innings just twice. He failed to go six innings just six times.
However, his splits with the Red Wings were also quite telling. Against left-handed batters, the southpaw was dominant. Lefties hit just .177/.209/.193 (.402) with three doubles in 202 plate appearances. He also walked just five while striking out 55. Against right-handers, he allowed a slash line of .326/.374/.457 (.831) with 41 extra base hits in 530 plate appearances. He walked 39 and struck out 71.
Again, people really talk about his makeup and character and think that he can be a very successful big league pitcher because of it… along with his stuff. He's got good stuff, obviously stuff that works well against left-handers. He has a couple of fastballs. Sometimes he sits 89-91, and other times, you can see him hitting 94. Out of the bullpen, it's likely there is some uptick when the temperatures move up.He also has a very good breaking ball. Some have called it a left-handed version of Tyler Duffey's curveball. I wouldn't go quite that far, but I would say that it is a definite weapon against left-handers. He also throws a changeup though it is a pitch that needs more consistency.
When asked who his favorite player was growing up, he said it was Todd Helton. Why? "I really liked him because of his poise and calm body language during pressing situations."
Rogers exudes that kind of calm demeanor on and off the mound. It is a characteristic that will serve him well if he is pitching in tight situations late in games out of the Twins bullpen.
Rogers ranked 21st in my Top 30 Prospect rankings before the 2014 season. In my 2015 rankings, he was #11. This year, knowing he was most likely moving to the bullpen, I placed him at 17th in my rankings.
Here is where he ranked in other preseason Twins Prospect lists:
Baseball America: 14
FanGraphs: 16
MLB.com: 14
Twins Daily: 16
TIMELINE
Rogers is either ready, or very close to ready, to pitch out of the Twins bullpen. I would expect that he would be the first relief pitcher called up to the big leagues if and when there is a need. The question is when. It could happen with an injury. It could happen if the Twins decide they would like a long reliever who has a history of being able to pitch five or more innings. It could happen if the team decides to make some moves quickly after their 0-7 start.
In the story in the 2014 Twins Prospect Handbook on Rogers, he was asked what i would mean to put on a big league uniform in a regular season game. He had not yet pitched in AA, so I'm certain the thought seemed far off, but he said "Putting on a big league uniform would be a dream. It sounds cliche but the process that it takes to get there, and how hard it is makes it such a great thing. Putting on a Major League uniform is something that can never be taken away, and the memory stays with you forever."

Soon, and very soon, Taylor. Soon, and very soon.

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Today, there are a few new articles including the one above: