A's DH Brent Rooker Ready for Monday's Home Run Derby

Athletics All-Star Brent Rooker is always swinging for the fences. On Monday, he'll put on a show

Jun 8, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics designated hitter Brent Rooker (25) during the fifth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

A's designated hitter Brent Rooker is not only headed to the All-Star Game, but he's going to participating in Monday's Home Run Derby in Atlanta. It may not be a stretch to say he's ready to launch homers with the best of them. He told the media before Thursday's game, "Just about every swing I've ever taken in my life, I've been trying to hit a home run."

Rooker mentioned on Sunday when he was named an All Star reserve that he'd like to participate in the competition, and would say "yes" if he were to be approached.

He's going to have his longtime hitting coach Joe Caruso throw him batting practice fastballs on Monday. Caruso has been his hitting coach since he was around nine years old, through high school, and still throws to the A's All Star during the offseason. "He's probably seen me hit in the cage more than anybody, so it should be a good relationship."

Brent Rooker's stats with the A's in 2025

So far this season, Rooker has hit .270 with a .346 OBP, along with 19 home runs and 50 RBI. He's not quite on the same path he was on last season when he hit. 290 with 39 home runs and a .365 OBP (and wasn't an All Star somehow), but he's still a very worthy All Star, and his 58 home runs since the start of the 2024 campaign rank No. 7 in all of baseball.

The only player with more home runs than Rooker in that timeframe that is participating in the Derby is Seattle's Cal Raleigh, who has 70, and has launched 36 so far this season.

Who will be Brent Rooker's biggest competition in the Home Run Derby?

— Jason Burke (@ByJasonB) July 11, 2025

The rest of the field for Monday's Derby will be Ronald Acuña Jr (11 home runs), Raleigh (36), James Wood (24), Byron Buxton (20), Oneil Cruz (16), Junior Caminero (22), and Jazz Chisholm Jr. (17). Rooker ranks right in the middle of that pack in terms of 2025 home run production, which should give him a decent shot at making a run at the title.

This year's Derby will have slightly different rules than in year's past, and Rooker has been receiving advice from other AL All Stars Julio Rodríguez and Bobby Witt Jr., who have experience in the event in recent years.

The big change for this year is that it will be three minutes or 40 pitches, which basically means you have the allotted time to take up to 40 swings. In recent Home Run Derbys it was just the time limit, and the pitcher was supposed to wait until a ball landed before throwing the next pitch. It was chaotic, especially on TV, and even difficult to track individual balls in person, but still a good time.

This tweak to the format should level the playing field a bit so that a batter can't just continuously swing away. Waiting for the ball to land was a hard rule to enforce, so this should make it a little easier all around from a viewing standpoint, as well as adding a little more strategy into the event, as everyone involved will be taking these changes on together.