Josh Rogers’ boyhood bedroom décor in New Albany, Indiana, was navy and white, for his beloved big-league baseball club.  His bathroom’s color scheme was red and black, the hues of his favorite college team. 

Rogers, a left-handed pitcher who turns 24 this summer, wore a University of Louisville uniform from 2014 to 2015.  Now his goal is to take the mound in New York Yankee pinstripes. 

“I was a Yankee fan when I was a little kid,” said Rogers, who currently plays for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, New York’s top affiliate. “My bathroom was done in Louisville Cardinals colors, and my bedroom was in Yankees colors, so it was cool to be picked by them.  Being in their organization is awesome.” 

Rogers said he first donned a baseball cap and glove when he was “four or five years old.”  But, Josh admitted, the National Pastime wasn’t his first love.  “Obviously, being from Indiana, basketball’s my favorite sport,” he said.  “I always wanted to be a basketball player, but baseball just took off.” 

In 2007 Rogers played for a New Albany Little League team that won the state championship.  Josh and his teammates made it to the championship game of the Great Lakes Tournament in Indianapolis – the last stop before the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania – where they lost to a club from Ohio.  “Those are memories I’ll never forget,” said Josh.  “I was 13.  I got to pitch in that game.  It was on ESPN.  It was really fun.”     

At New Albany High School, Josh developed into one of Midwest’s top left-handers.  By the end of his junior year he had 24 wins, two losses, 259 strikeouts and a 1.07 earned run average.  Top college programs started calling.  “I had an offer from Vanderbilt, and I was talking to Arizona State a little bit,” he said.  “But I’ve been a Louisville fan my whole life, so when those guys picked up the phone, it was a no-brainer.” 

Arm trouble curtailed Rogers’ senior season in 2013.  “It was our first game,” he said.  “I think it was against Fort Wayne Carroll.  We had a doubleheader that day.  I pitched four innings in the first game and I felt something.  I thought I had some forearm tightness.  I think I played first base in the second game.  It was okay to throw the ball around, but definitely not to pitch.  It was the only time I got to play my senior year, which was really disappointing.” 

The prognosis was ligament damage, something only an operation could repair.  Rogers went under the knife in Cincinnati, where Dr. Tom Kremcheck, the team physician for the Reds, performed the surgery. 

Even without baseball, Rogers stayed busy that spring and summer.  “I graduated high school that year on June 2,” he said.  “I started summer school at the University of Louisville on June 3.  As soon as the high school season was over, Louisville took full reins.  I had two sessions of summer school and was rehabbing over there seven days a week.” 

Josh was back on the mound for his freshman year in 2014.  “I’d been rehabbing for the last 11 months,” he said.  “So when I got to go out there and compete, it was well worth it.”    

The move from high school to college required adjustments.  “It was more than just baseball,” Rogers said.  “Obviously, balancing school, learning how to take care of your body, learning the weight room, learning how to lift, and how to do all those little things.  It was a big adjustment for me. But I tried to hit the ground running.  I felt confident, the coaches were happy, and I felt good about my new arm.”  

Rogers made his collegiate debut with a three-up, three-down relief appearance against Indiana on March 19, 2014.  His first win as a Cardinal came on April 22 against Western Kentucky.  He was the winning pitcher when Louisville beat archrival University of Kentucky in the NCAA regional title game.  

Closing out his freshman year with 3-3 record and a 3.62 ERA, Rogers headed to Massachusetts to join the Bourne Braves of the renowned Cape Cod League.  “I was super-excited,” he said.  “I knew it was the best amateur league there is.  I pitched well on the Cape, knowing those guys were all really good.”  

As a sophomore in 2015, Rogers lost his first start to Cal State Fullerton on February 15.  He didn’t lose again during the regular season, going 8-1 in 16 starts and posting a 3.36 ERA.  In 93.2 innings, he racked up 82 strikeouts.  His win over Michigan on May 31 gave Louisville another NCAA regional championship.  “I think summer ball was a huge confidence-builder,” Josh said. 

Back home in New Albany after the college season, Rogers planned to go back to Cape Cod.  Although only a sophomore, he turned 21 that summer and was eligible for the Major League Baseball Draft.  “I was at my house and I’d just woke up, and my phone started going crazy,” Josh recalled. “Mike Gibbons, the Yankees area scout, called and said, ‘Hey we just took you in the eleventh round.’”         

While negotiations with New York were underway, Rogers on returning to the Bourne Braves.  “After I got drafted, I went up there and made three or four starts,” he said.  “I was planning to go back to school for my junior season.  But luckily, we got to work something out.  We were playing putt-putt with my girlfriend and my parents, and I got a call from Damon Oppenheimer [Yankees vice president of amateur scouting].  I said ‘Let’s do this!’  It was a bit of a whirlwind.  I left Bourne on my 21^st birthday [July 10, 2005].  We packed up the car and I drove home to Louisville that night, and flew off to Tampa the next day.”  

Although they drafted him as a starting pitcher, the Yankees planned to use Rogers in relief at the outset.  “I already had a bunch of innings that year from the college season and the Cape,” he explained, “so I was only going to throw one or two innings at a time.” 

Rogers broke into professional baseball with Staten Island, a rookie team in the short-season New York-Penn League.  After three relief appearances, one win, a save, and a 2.57 ERA, Josh moved up to Charleston, S.C., of the low-A South Atlantic League.  “That short-season league wasn’t overwhelming at any point for me,” he said.  “Louisville had me well-prepared to hit the ground running.” 

In two games with Charleston, Rogers gave up four runs in six innings.  “That was the first time it was an adjustment period for me,” he said.  “I had a couple of bad outings.  My arm was kind of tired, and they shut me down.”  

At Charleston in 2016, Rogers returned to the starting rotation.  “Back to my comfort zone,” he said, “being able to get out there in the first.”  Josh went 2-1 with a 1.59 ERA in four starts to earn a promotion to Tampa of the high-A Florida State League.  In 20 appearances, he won 10 and lost five with a 2.53 ERA.  

Rogers earned another upgrade in 2017 after going 4-3 with a 2.22 ERA in eight starts for Tampa.  Joining Trenton of the AA Eastern League in late June, he won four and lost two with a 4.62 ERA.  “I’m not gonna make any excuses,” he said, “but I had a bone spur in my arm for about four or five starts there.  I was just trying to battle through it,” 

The condition required another operation.  “It was easier than Tommy John,” said Rogers, “but it was still the same type of rehab process – going in and getting your range-of-motion back, and doing all the shoulder exercises.  I had surgery back in Cincinnati with Dr. Kremchek and I rehabbed at home in New Albany.  It was a long off-season.”  

During spring training this year, Rogers figured the Yankees would send him back to Double-A ball.  “I had total intentions of being in Trenton as a starter,” he said, “but I had a decent spring.  About two days before camp ended they told me:  ‘You’re gonna start in Scranton.’  They told me I was supposed to come here and be a long-relief guy out of the bullpen.  I said ‘Well, let’s do it!  Triple-A is Triple-A, so I’ll do whatever I gotta do.’”  

When early-season injuries and call-ups depleted Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s pitching staff, Rogers found himself in the starting rotation.  “I was so much more comfortable, to be honest,” he said. 

On May 29 the RailRiders went to Louisville to begin a three-game series with the Bats.  Rogers started that night and got the win in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s 4-0 triumph.  He scattered five hits and a pair of walks over seven innings, improving his record to 5-3 with a 2.48 ERA.  

Bobby and Eldora Rogers, Josh’s parents, were on hand for the contest, along with other family members and friends.  “We estimated about a thousand people from the town were there,” he said.  “A lot of old teammates, high school friends, college friends, my parents’ friends … The Little League bunch was there, the parents and everything.  They had a suite that night.  It was a special night.  Seeing all the support from the town was really cool.”  

Armed with a four-seam fastball, changeup and slider, the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Rogers said he’s been working on a cutter this season.  For all his success (28 wins, 16 losses and a 2.93 ERA through his first 58 appearances as a Yankee farmhand), he’s not listed among New York’s leading prospects.  “I’m not really worried about it,” he said.  “I guess I don’t throw hard enough for those guys to think I’m a top prospect.  I guess I’ll keep doing what I’m doing.  I’m just gonna keep throwing the ball and let my numbers talk for themselves.”  

If Rogers gets a shot with the Yanks, it’s a safe bet he won’t have any trouble getting his favorite number.  The Bronx Bombers have retired 21 uniforms over the years – but not  13, the number Josh has worn since his high school days.  “I’ve had it since my freshman year,” he explained.  “I was playing varsity and all the older guys had picked their numbers.  I had the last pick, and I said, ‘You know what?  Nobody likes 13, so I’ll take it.’” 

Only a handful of Yankee players have worn number 13, including third baseman Mike Pagliarulo (1986-1989) and utility man Jim Leyritz (1993-2000).  The best-known No. 13 in pinstripes was Alex Rodriguez, New York’s third sacker from 2004 to 2016.  “When you go to teams, 13 is a number that’s available a lot of times, because nobody wants to wear it,” said Rogers.  “I’m a weird left-handed guy, I guess.” 

Pete Cava is the author of “Tales From the Cubs Dugout” and “Indiana-Born Major League Baseball Players:  A Biographical Dictionary, 1871-2014.”