Ft. Myers Miracle (High A) outfielder Brent Rooker has been named Twins minor league Player of the Week. Rooker appeared in six games for the Miracle, hitting .348 (8-for-23) with three home runs, 12 RBI and four runs scored. In 76 games between Rookie Elizabethton and Ft. Myers, Rooker has hit .262 (45-for-172) with seven doubles, 13 home runs, 38 RBI and taken 21 walks.
A 38th-round pick of the Twins last June (2016), Rooker had to give the Twins permission to select him again. Rooker, 22, the Southeastern Conference player of the year as a red shirt junior at Mississippi State, had the second-highest average exit velocity in Division 1 baseball last season, hitting .387 with 23 home runs in 67 games.
The Tennessee native was drafted by the Twins in the Competitive Balance Rd A (35th overall) in the 2017 First-Year Player Draft out of Mississippi State University. What the Twins saw from Terry Brent Rooker at the plate was enough to convince them to re-draft him at No. 35 overall on Monday. A right-handed hitter, he signed for the full slot figure of $1.935 million after a record-setting season at Mississippi State.
This article didn’t mention that he won the SEC Triple Crown this season and was also voted collegiate player of the year. Kid had an absolutely amazing season. Easily the most accomplished batting season in the last decade in the SEC.