With change of scenery, new Astro Rodgers ready to unlock new level in '25

JUPITER, Fla. -- Brendan Rodgers believes leaving what is widely considered a hitters' paradise may actually be the key to unlocking his potent bat.

Rodgers figures that playing half his games at mile-high Coors Field in Colorado, where the thinner air robs curve balls of their break and keeps fastballs on a truer straight path, provided an unrealistic feel for how pitches moved at lower elevations.

¡°I've been a sea-level hitter my whole life, until I got to Coors,¡± said Rodgers, a Florida native now with Houston. ¡°I think going there maybe once a year, instead of playing 80 games, I think it's going to benefit me -- just picking up spin and knowing where my swing needs to start and where my swing needs to be.¡±

Baseball Savant ranks Coors Field as the No. 1 hitter's park over the past three seasons. Houston's Minute Maid Park -- now Daikin Park -- ranked No. 12.

Last season Rodgers hit .328 with nine homers and an .888 OPS at home, but only .214 with four homers and a .570 OPS away from Coors.

Rodgers, 28, expects better road production this year, and Houston manager Joe Espada appreciates Rodgers' rationale.

¡°I understand where he's coming from,¡± Espada said. ¡°I think that he's always been a good hitter regardless of where he's playing.¡±

Houston signed Rodgers, a career .286 hitter at Minute Maid, to a Minor League deal with a camp invite shortly after the start of spring to potentially compete for a starting spot at second base. One of the biggest questions entering Astros camp was whether a move of All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve to left field would succeed.

Altuve's small sample size of results in left have been mixed. His first fielding opportunity of the spring produced a throwing error on Sunday. Later in that game he made a difficult catch at the left-field wall. Altuve played back-to-back games for the first time this spring on Monday vs. the Marlins, during which he was unable to catch a pop-up in short left-center field that was ruled a hit.

While Altuve participates in drills at second base and Espada re-iterated Monday he'll play some games there this spring, the goal is to learn whether Altuve can handle left field full time. If he can, that's where Altuve will spend the majority of the year.

¡°I would like to leave him at one position for the majority of games,¡± Espada said. ¡°The back-and-forth is something that I am going to avoid. I think if we commit to left field, he'll get more starts there in left field than second base, unless something changes.¡±

Rodgers, the No. 3 overall Draft pick in 2015 behind Dansby Swanson and Alex Bregman, played his first six seasons with the Rockies before being non-tendered following ¡®24.

A Gold Glove winner at second base in 2022, he's battling Mauricio Dub¨®n and Luis Guillorme to become the Astros¡¯ everyday second baseman. Espada said Rodgers will also see time at third base this spring.

As good as Rodgers¡¯ glove is, it's the bat that will likely determine his impact on the roster. Rodgers' late signing has limited him to only nine plate appearances this spring, tallying two singles, a walk and two strikeouts.

¡°Obviously the goal is to make the team,¡± Rodgers said. ¡°That's step one, wherever that may be -- starter, platoon, whatever it may be.¡±

During the offseason, Rodgers began tweaking his swing searching for an increased launch angle. In his brief time with the Astros, Rodgers says his new coaches have encouraged him to continue that pursuit.

¡°I'm really focused on what they're having me try to think about and feel in the swing,¡± Rodgers said. ¡°I'm really starting to understand how my body works, and how it can work a little bit better -- be less forceful with my hands and really just kind of swinging with my back hip and trusting that I have time to hit heaters and I have time to hit sliders.¡±

Other than his swing, Rodgers says he's noticed one other major difference in Astros¡¯ camp as opposed to previous years: that winning feeling.

¡°I'm looking forward to being a part of a winning organization,¡± Rodgers said. ¡°You can just feel the different energy and the positivity. You can tell guys want to win here and losing is not taken well.¡±