Brian Alan Rogers (born July 17, 1982) is a former

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2006 and 2007.

Amateur career

Rogers pitched for

Georgia Southern University Georgia Southern University (GS or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The flagship campus is in Statesboro, and other locations include the Armstrong Campus in Savannah and the Liberty Campus in Hi ...

. In 2002, he played collegiate summer baseball with the

Orleans Cardinals The Orleans Firebirds, formerly the Orleans Cardinals, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Orleans, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Firebirds play ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League, where he was named a league all-star and received the league's outstanding pitcher award.

Professional career

Detroit Tigers

He was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 11th round of the 2003 MLB Draft. Detroit assigned him to the Low-A

Oneonta Tigers The Oneonta Tigers were a minor league baseball team located in Oneonta, New York. They were members of the New York–Penn League. The Tigers were the Short-Season A classification affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, and played their home games ...

in the

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

, where he went 3–2 with a 3.34

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

in twelve starts. In 2004 Detroit promoted Rogers to the Single-A

West Michigan Whitecaps The West Michigan Whitecaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Comstock Park, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids, and play their home games at LMCU Ballpa ...

, where he went 6–8 with a 4.55 ERA. Lack of run support contributed to several losses: at one point in April, Rogers was 0–1 despite three consecutive

quality start In baseball, a quality start is a statistic for a starting pitcher defined as a game in which the pitcher completes at least six innings and permits no more than three earned runs. The quality start has effectively replaced the 'complete game' a ...

s and a 2.38 ERA. For 2005, Detroit converted Rogers into a relief pitcher and promoted him to the High-A

Lakeland Tigers Lakeland is primarily a toponym. It may refer to: Places Australia * Lakeland, Queensland Canada * Lakeland (electoral district), a federal electoral district in Alberta * Lakeland County, a former municipal district in Alberta * District of ...

, where he posted a 2.06 ERA in 52 appearances. Rogers and fellow middle-reliever Danny Zell were cited by manager

Mel Rojas Melquíades Rojas Medrano (born December 10, 1966) is a Dominican former Major League Baseball (MLB) relief pitcher. From 1990 to 1999, he played for the Montreal Expos, Chicago Cubs, New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers of the National League a ...

as integral to Lakeland's success that year, while pitching coach

Britt Burns Robert Britt Burns (born June 8, 1959) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher from 1978 until 1985, pitching for the Chicago White Sox compiling a career mark of 70 wins and 60 losses with a 3.66 ERA. Burns pitched for Fultondale High School ...

called Rogers "the most improved pitcher on this staff." Detroit promoted Rogers to the Double-A Erie SeaWolves where he continued to work as a reliever, compiling a 3–2 record with an ERA of 2.39 by the end of July, when the Tigers traded him to the Pittsburgh Pirates for

first basemen A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

Sean Casey.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Rogers made a whirlwind tour through Pittsburgh's minor league system, making a combined nine appearances with the Double-A

Altoona Curve The Altoona Curve are a Minor League Baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve (but also alluding to the curveball, a type of pitch). The team plays in the Eastern League and is the Double-A affiliate of th ...

and Triple-A Indianapolis Indians, during which he posted a 1–1 record and an ERA of 0.93. The Pirates called Rogers up at the end of August, and Rogers made his major league debut on September 1, 2006. In ten appearances with the Pirates, Rogers posted an ERA of 8.31, but did not figure in any decisions. Rogers spent most of the 2007 season in Indianapolis, where he went 2–1 with a 3.05 ERA. The Pirates recalled Rogers briefly in May 2006, but optioned him back to Indianapolis after he gave up three runs (including two home runs) in just two innings of work. Rogers returned to the Pirates' minor leagues for 2008, but was released in mid-June. The Tigers, who had traded Rogers in 2006, promptly signed him to a contract and sent him to the Triple-A

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

. After posting an ERA of 7.65 in sixteen appearances the Tigers released Rogers to make room for Gary Glover. He finished the season playing for the

Binghamton Mets The Binghamton Rumble Ponies are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Binghamton, New York. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets major-league club. The Rumble Ponies play in Mirab ...

in the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

' minor leagues and became a free agent at the end of the season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Brian 1982 births Living people Pittsburgh Pirates players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Dallas Altoona Curve players Binghamton Mets players Georgia Southern Eagles baseball players Erie SeaWolves players Indianapolis Indians players Lakeland Tigers players Oneonta Tigers players Toledo Mud Hens players West Michigan Whitecaps players Orleans Firebirds players