By Jonah Drew

Brent Rooker has quietly been one of the best hitters in all of baseball for what is now a full season sample size. Rooker is legit and it’s time we start giving him his due respect. Drop Brent Rooker on the Yankees or the Dodgers and he would be the talk of the town. But since he plays for the lowly Oakland Athletics, you won’t hear a word about him. As a result of his poultry media coverage, it feels like nobody even knows where he came from. On that front, let me tell you.

After a dominant career in the SEC with Mississippi State, Rooker was selected 35th overall by the Minnesota Twins back in 2017. The latter half of 2017 went about as well as he could have hoped, he posted a .930 OPS in rookie ball and high A. Already a 23 year old, Rooker spent all of 2018 in AA. Rooker slashed .254/.333/.465 with 22 HRs and 32 2Bs in AA. 2019 was yet another successful year, in 67 AAA games, Rooker posted a .928 OPS. Rooker’s pro career was off to a great start as he was looking to make his impact felt on the big club in 2020. As we know, Covid hit and Rooker only made a brief cameo, in his short seven game stint, Rooker showed what he could do, he posted a 162 OPS+ in 21 PAs. Rooker’s career was beginning to shape up, he had earned himself a role on the 2021 Twins. As with most things regarding the 2021 Twins, Rooker’s season did not go according to plan. In 58 games, Rooker hit just above the Mendoza line and posted an 89 OPS+. The Twins had seen enough, they sent Rooker to San Diego with Taylor Rogers in exchange for Chris Paddack and Emilio Pagan. 2022 was a weird year for Brent, he played just 2 games with the Padres before being sent to the Royals for Cam Gallagher. Then, in November 2022, the Oakland Athletics made one of their best decisions in recent memory, signing Brent Rooker off of waivers. Nobody could have possibly guessed what Rooker was about to do in the following years.

For the first time in his pro career, Rooker finally had the opportunity to play everyday in Oakland and suffice to say he took advantage of his opportunity. In 2023, for the lowly, 50-112, Oakland A’s, Brent Rooker was the lone bright spot in an otherwise dark and gloomy situation. Rooker slashed .246/.329/.468 with a 126 wRC+, for counting numbers, he put up 20 2Bs, 30 HRs, and 69 RBI. Rooker’s all or nothing approach finally starting to show big league results, he posted a 9.3% BB% and a sky high 32.7% K%. This breakout season earned Rooker an All-Star nod, a very well deserved one at that. Even after a great 2023, Rooker still had his doubters. Was 2023 a one off? Would Rooker be one of those one season wonders? In short, No, In fact, 2023 is proving to be just the start of the mashing for Rooker.

As I said, Rooker was just getting started. In 2023, Rooker burst on to the scene. In 2024, Rooker showed everyone he’s here to stay, and he’s here to do major damage. In 588 Plate Appearances, Rooker is slashing .296/.367/.570 with 38 Homers and a 166 wRC+. He has also tallied 110 RBI, 25 2Bs, and even 11 SBs. Look, I get Batting Average is effectively insignificant, but if you would have tried to tell me Brent Rooker would be a near .300 hitter for an entire season, I might have just checked you into an asylum. That’s how crazy someone like Rooker hitting .296 is, who knows there are still a couple of series left, he could even sneak over the .300 benchmark. I’ll tell you this much, I am not going to be the one to doubt this man. The craziest part of it all, Rooker hasn’t shortened up and reigned in his approach, he is still striking out at a 30% clip. Brent Rooker will never cease to amaze me.

If you really need to hear this, I do not know what to tell you, but Brent Rooker is legit and I have the metrics to back it up. We know how elite Rooker’s result based numbers are, but his peripherals are equally as impressive. He is sitting on a 96th percentile xwOBA of .389, an 83rd percentile xBA of .274, and a 98th percentile xSLG of .584. Wow. His batted ball data is also mind boggling, he is in the 92nd percentile in Avg. Exit Velocity at 92.3 MPH. He is also in the 98th and 96th percentile in Barrel Rate and Hard Hit Rate respectively. Brent Rooker is an elite bat, tell a friend, Lord knows he deserves his respect.

Sources

Baseball Almanac

Baseball Reference

Baseball Savant

Fangraphs

By Jonah Drew

Chicago Bulls: 29-53

The Chicago Bulls have been one of the more frustrating and head scratching organizations for quite a while now. They have been stuck in basketball purgatory, not nearly good enough to seriously compete, but also not bad enough to get premium draft picks. They have nobody to fault but themselves, there was no reason to keep Demar Derozan for so long, and they really should have moved on from Zach Lavine and Nicola Vucevic by now. Not that any of those guys are anything special at this point but they are good enough to keep you out of #1 pick conversations, which if your Chicago, is where you want to be. GM Mark Eversly made one of the flat out worst trades I have ever seen this past offseason. Trading the perfect modern role player in Alex Caruso for in my opinion, one of the worst rotation players in the entire NBA in Josh Giddey, is flat out incomprehensible. Josh Giddey is a god awful defender, who can’t self create or space the floor. Is he a good passer? Yes he is but even that ability is hampered because he is a non threat as a scorer. Coby White took massive strides this past season, he is absolutely a piece for the Bulls’ future. Young guys like Ayo Dosunmu and Matas Buzelis are very promising and I just hope their development isn’t held back by veterans who have no real future with the team. At the end of the the day, that it is what it is about for Chicago, the future.

Cleveland Cavaliers: 44-38

The 2024-2025 Cavaliers are really no different than the 2023-2024 Cavaliers, for better or for worse. I am honestly very suprised this core wasn’t shaken up at all, both the guard tandem and the big tandem have real questions regarding their fit. The tandem of Garland and Mitchell does have a lot of aggregate skill, it is a backcourt with 2 very small, ball dominant guards. On the big side, the duo Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen is very clunky, neither are very skilled offensively, even if they are both elite defensive players. Max Strus was a streaky shooter last year but his spacing is invaluable to this team. I expect more of the same, this will be an elite regular season defense with questionable spacing.

Detroit Pistons: 15-67

I would like to preface the atrocities I am about to commit by apologizing to Detroit Pistons fans, not just for my comments, but for your god awful basketball team. Cade Cunningham has continually been thrown in some of the worst situations possible, but he hasn’t exactly done too much to help. He has been horrid defensively and has hardly been above average offensively, in an admittedly terrible situation. This team’s spacing is absolutely god awful, there will be times where you think you are watching a game from 1975 but nope, it’s just the Pistons. Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thompson, Jalen Duren, Isaiah Stewart and now Ron Holland, all effective non-shooters playing significant minutes for this team. The spacing on this team is absolutely absymal. The defense will not be all that good either, Thompson and Duren are both great defenders but outside of that nobody else can defend much at all. I also question how much effort they will actually put in defensively with the season being over before it even starts. Pistons fans, pray for Cooper Flagg because he’s your only real shot right now.

Indiana Pacers: 48-34

Last year went about as well as Pacers fans could have possibly asked for, they won 47 games and went all the way to the conference finals. Many will say they had a “mickey mouse run” playing a Giannisless Bucks team and a banged up Knicks team but I’d say they just handled business. This was even further backed up by them playing maybe the most tightly contested sweep against what I believe was a historic Celtics team. I am in love with the Pacers’ tempo, they are by far the fastest team in the NBA which helped them to be the second best offense in the entire NBA. On the other hand, the defense was abysmal, I actually chalk some off this up to effort, when they were locked in and engaged in the postseason it was more than passable. People love to hate on Tyrese Haliburton but I am a Hali defender, he is an uber efficient playmaker and when he asserts himself, he can really fill it up. He is an ideal offensive engine. The Pacers also have a plethora of young players who are already flashing potential, players like Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Bennedict Mathurin, and even Jarace Walker. Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner are so perfect for this system, they are both great in transition and can defend their positions at an above average level. I’m a Pacers believer.

Milwaukee Bucks: 44-38

I have to say, I believe that the bucks will be the disappointment of the NBA this upcoming season. Ever since the Bucks inexplicably fired Adrian Griffin in favor of Doc Rivers, they have been a mediocre basketball team, going 18-20 and making a quick playoff exit to the rival Pacers. Giannis is still elite as ever but he has really struggled to stay healthy down the stretch the last few years, I wonder if his physical play style is starting to take a tole on his body. Dame is starting to show real signs of regression, I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt but it really didn’t look like the Dame of old last season. The rest of the roster is my real concern though, Middleton can fill it up but his but his winning impact is limited at this point and father time has just about gotten Brook Lopez. I also really question the effort this team will show in the regular season considering it’s collective age.

Sources

Basketball Index

Basketball Reference

ESPN

Statmuse

By Jonah Drew

Record: 36-46

The Raptors really haven’t found their footing since they won their ring with Kawhi Leonard back in 2019. They had a couple years of contention but never anything with real championship aspirations. Longtime GM Masai Uriji made the decision to fire the coach who won him a championship, Nick Nurse after the 2022-23 season. In his place, they hired Darko Rajakovic. His first season wasn’t a great one but I would definitely still say the jury is out on him as Raptors head coach. The Raptors went 25-57, missing the playoffs entirely. The real interesting part though came at the trade deadline, where the Raptors were arguably the most active team in the NBA, making 2 blockbuster deals. The first one sending defensive stopper OG Anunoby to the Knicks in exchange for Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, and a 2024 Secound Round Pick. Then, they traded All-Star Forward Pascal Siakam to Indiana for Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora, and 3 First Round Picks. Obviously it is way too early to tell who came out on top in these deals but all I know is both of the guys that Toronto dealt are absolutely flourishing in their new homes. It is clear Toronto believes in their guys though, as both Quickley and Barrett were paid handsomely not long after being sent up north. Quickley was very solid in his expanded role, going from a 6th man to a lead ball handler and primary option is tough but he handled it well. He averaged 18.6 PPG on .518 eFG% with 6.8 APG to boot, very respectable marks. The real breakout came from the native Canadian, RJ Barrett. In his return home, Barrett averaged 21.6 PPG on an extremely efficient .601 eFG%. Barrett was also a much improved rim finisher and c&s jump shooter. This is the RJ Barrett we were promised all those years ago. Scottie Barnes is the future of the Toronto Raptors. The former Rookie of the Year is already a star at 23 years old, but the sky is the limit for what he could become. I will save my Scottie Barnes erasure for the team MVP bit, but just know I am a believer. The Raptors big man situation is about as mediocre as it gets. The center minutes will largely consist of Jakob Poeltl and Kelly Olynyk, not great by any stretch but serviceable enough. Bruce Brown continues to be one of the most underrated players in all of basketball, he is the ideal modern role player and any contender would love to take him off Toronto’s hands. The collection of young rotation guys such as Gradey Dick, Jakobe Walter, Jonathan Mogbo and Davion Mitchell is very exciting. Anyone of these young talents could breakout into a quality NBA starter and I wouldn’t be surprised at all. As a whole, I am buying this Raptors rebuild, centered around Scottie Barnes, I do not believe that this group is all that far away from being a playoff team.

MVP: Scottie Barnes

Scottie has flashed since the minute he stepped foot on an NBA floor, winning Rookie of the Year back in 2022. 2023 was essentially status quo but 2024 was the breakout we were hoping for. He put up 20 PPG on .528 eFG% with 8 RPG and 6 APG to boot. He was also vastly improved as a three point shooter, he shot .341 from downtown on very significant volume in 4.9 3PA/PG. He is becoming a very complete offensive player. If he can sustain this very solid 3 point shooting then he becomes one of the only wings in the game who can truly do it all. He is arguably the best playmaking 4 in all of basketball, he is great getting downhill and can now apparently stretch the floor. However, offense has never been Barnes’ calling card. Scottie Barnes is one of the best defenders in all of basketball bar none. He averaged 1.3 SPG and 1.5 BPG, but that is just the start of it. He is in the 100th percentile in defensive positional versatility. He is also an 87th percentile defensive playmaker. To go along with that, he is an 82nd percentile perimeter isolation defender. Scottie Barnes can truly do it all.

DPOY: Jakob Poeltl

It feels like Jakob Poeltl has been around for what feels like forever but I still feel like his winning impact continues to go unnoticed. I do believe it is worth mentioning that Scottie Barnes is this team’s best defender but with him being MVP, this honor goes to Jakob Poeltl. With that out of the way, let’s discuss the ever overlooked, Jakob Poeltl. Poeltl is averaging 1.5 BPG with a 5.1% Block Rate. Poeltl can really protect the rim. Getting advanced, Poeltl is in the 95th percentile in D-Lebron among centers. He also grades out as an elite help defender. Respect Jakob Poeltl.

Breakout: RJ Barrett

RJ Barrett has long been one of the most frustrating players in basketball. In New York he always showed flashes of being the star he was touted as but more often than not he was an extremely inefficient basketball player who’s playstyle was not conducive to winning whatsoever. In the first part of the season in NY, Barrett averaged 18.2 on .469 eFG% but since coming back home up north, he averaged 21.2 PPG on .605 eFG%. That is an absolutely drastic jump. He has come so far as a rim finisher, he is towards the top of the league in finishing talent, rim shotmaking efficiency, rim shot quality, and floater talent. The only argument I would hear is that he already broke out, but I believe the best is still yet to come for the young 24 year old.

Sources

Basketball Index

Basketball Reference

ESPN

Statmuse