Athletics outfielder Brent Rooker has earned the AL player of the week honors, awarded by MLB. Over the week of April 29 - May 5, Rooker hit .438 with 3 homers, 7 RBI, and a 1.613 OPS.
The capstone of the week was Saturday's 20-4 victory over the Marlins, in which Rooker hit two home runs in the bottom of the third inning. He became the first Athletics hitter to accomplish the feat since Mark McGwire did so in 1996.
Well would you Rook at that 👀 pic.twitter.com/zz9NHaYwgm
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) May 6, 2024
Overall, Rooker is off to a hot start. He's up to .256/.348/.615, and leads the team with 8 homers and 20 RBI. His 13 runs scored are second, behind only Abraham Toro, and he's chipped in a steal as well.
Coming off his first All-Star appearance in 2023, expectations were high for Rooker entering 2024. The Athletics weren't seen as a competent offense and Rooker was expected to be the leader of the group.
He's done his share, despite getting most of his time at DH and providing little to no value on the defensive side.
The Athletics need Rooker to keep up the pace if they want to finish 2024 looking like a respectable offense. Prior to Saturday's outburst they were, by all accounts, one of the worst offenses in the league.
Saturday's effort changes the perception a bit but there's only so much you can gain from having one strong outing amid a bevy of low scoring games.
Mark Kotsay is doing the best he can with what he's been given but if Rooker can win another couple of these player of the week awards, it'll go a long way to getting the team as a whole headed in the right direction.
On a related note, Rooker's NL counterpart was none other than former LA Angels' superstar Shohei Ohtani. The 29 year old posted an unreal .524/.583/.952 line with 3 homers and 7 RBI. Thankfully the A's only have to face off against him twice per year now that he's with the Dodgers, rather than running the gauntlet with him in-division.