Featured Player - Tyler Rogers
When Tyler Rogers takes the mound, there is no mistaking who is throwing the baseball. The slender 25 year-old righty, tosses his pitches from an extreme sidearm angle. As Rogers comes to the plate, his hand nearly brushes the dirt on the mound. It's a unique delivery that has worked with flying colors for Rogers and the Flying Squirrels in 2016. "That's what I like about my delivery," said Rogers during the most recent taping of the Flying Squirrels insider TV show. "It's unique and it's mine. It's different from everyone else's"
Different is one way to describe it. Effective would be another. The Colorado native has been nearly untouchable for Richmond this season .Through his first 16 appearances out the bullpen, Rogers had not allowed an earned run. The submarine sidewinder has held opponents to a .190 ERA while leading the league in appearances. "I just try to pitch to contact and let the ball move every which way it wants, " Rogers humbly stated. I try to get some ground balls and let the defense work behind me."
Getting those groundballs has become one of the calling cards for Rogers. He has induced over 3.50 ground outs per fly out this year, leading to double plays and inning ending outs. First-year Squirrels skipper Miguel Ojeda has shown plenty of faith in Rogers, leaning on him late in games and with runners on base. "It's not common to see a guy throw from down there," said Pitching Coach Steve Kline of Rogers effectiveness. "He throws a lot of strikes so people have to be prepared to hit"
Of course for Rogers, it was not always this way. Like most kids growing up and playing baseball, Rogers threw from a normal angle, mostly playing the infield. It wasn't until the competition stiffened that his arm angle changed. Coming out of high school in Littleton, CO, Rogers didn't have many offers to play baseball at the collegiate level. He took the only gig he could find, packing up and leaving home for Garden City Community College in Southwest Kansas. It was at Garden City where Head Coach Chris Finnegan suggested Rogers throw from a lower angle. As Rogers tinkered with the new delivery, his arm action kept getting lower and lower. After a decent freshman season as the setup man for Garden City, Rogers dominated as the closer his sophomore season, He saved 13 games and posted a 2.67 ERA en route to grabbing the attention of Austin Peay State University.
Rogers overpowered the competition at Austin Peay and saved 35 games over two seasons for the Governors. In his senior season, Rogers won seven games while holding down a 1.73 ERA leading to the Giants selecting him in the 10th round of the 2013 MLB June Draft. The selection was one round earlier than his twin brother Taylor was taken in the 2012 draft.
Tyler's twin brother Taylor, an overhand thrower, is also a pitcher on the rise. Taylor took a more conventional route to professional baseball, playing three seasons at Kansas University. Oddly enough, he was drafted by the Twins in the 11th round in 2012 and quickly made his way through the system. Taylor made his MLB debut on April 14, 2016 and Tyler could not have been more proud. "He called me when he got the call up [to the Majors]. He made sure he called me first. He said he wanted to tell me first and that mean a lot to me," Tyler recalled of the special moment. " I was overwhelmed with joy. We [the Squirrels] were taking batting practice when he made his debut so I ran in and watched it in the clubhouse. I wish there was a word to describe it, it's even better than you think."
Of course Tyler hopes to receive that same call his brother did. Could seeing his identical twin brother reach the ultimate goal be an additional motivational tool? "It's like a big mythical dream and he made it become a reality. It does show me that it is possible." With the way Tyler has pitched this year, he might reach that mythical dream sooner than expected.