Less than ten day after signing his first professional contract with the Colorado Rockies, Brendan Rodgers is already getting to work. The third pick of the 2015 MLB draft has already started proving his value to the future of the Rockies.
Rodgers made his pro debut with the Rockies’ Pioneer League team, the Grand Junction Rockies on Thursday. In his first professional game, Rodgers was outstanding. For the day he was 4-6, coming one triple short of a cycle, scoring three runs and driving in two. Rodgers was also great on defense, according to MiLB.com.
“I was just in shock, like, wow, just to get my first hit, and then, two at-bats later, getting my first hit and my first professional home run in one game. … It was unbelievable,” the 18-year-old shortstop told MiLB. “I’m still shaking.”
Rodgers spent some time with the team prior to his debut, practicing and preparing for life as a professional.
“It was actually good to learn the pro ball game and pro ball way, to see the right way and the wrong way to do things on and off the field as a pro,” he said. “It was really good to get to watch six games and have a good debut.”
But even such a strong debut was not enough for the Rockies to overcome the 10 runs allowed by Christian Talley. Grand Junction ultimately fell 15-11 to Orem.
Despite Rodgers good play, he knows he still has a lot to work on when it comes to his mechanics in baseball.
“I need to get my timing back, I haven’t seen live pitching in awhile,” Rodgers, who turns 19 in August, recently told the Denver Post. “I need to get my feet back under me.”
Rodgers had not played a competitive game since April, when his high school season was cut unexpectedly short as his team was eliminated from the playoffs in Florida.
He made his first game back count in a big way.