By PAUL BETIT
MaineToday Media, Inc. Thursday, April 26, 2007

MaineToday Media, Inc.

Mark Rogers, the Milwaukee Brewers' first-round pick three years ago, doesn't know when he'll be able to pick up a baseball and pitch from a mound again.

But the hard-throwing right-hander from Orr's Island does know he feels a lot better than he did before undergoing arthroscopic surgery three months ago.

"I couldn't be happier than I am right now," he said. "My strength is coming back and I've had full range of motion for quite a while." In 2004, Rogers, 21, signed for $2.2 million after the Brewers made him the fifth pick in the major league draft following his senior year at Mt. Ararat High in Topsham.

Last July, his third pro season was cut short after his throwing shoulder stiffened while he was pitching for the Brevard County Manatees in the Class A Florida State League, and he returned to Milwaukee's training complex in Marysville, Ariz.

In January, Rogers underwent surgery in Fort Worth, Texas, to repair a torn labrum and tighten up a loose ligament in his right shoulder. More than three months after the surgery, Rogers appears to be recovering.

"From all the reports, he's progressing well and they feel he's going to make a full recovery," said Jim Rooney, Milwaukee's coordinator of minor league pitching. Rooney made it clear the Brewers don't intend to rush Rogers back.

"I don't know whether he will return this season," he said. "The medical staff will make that determination."

Currently, Rogers reports to Milwaukee's training facility in Arizona at 7 a.m. Monday through Saturday for a morning of physical rehab work, mostly weight lifting and running.

"Everything I do is monitored by a physicial therapist," he said. "He gives me a program every morning."

After more than three months of rehabilitation, Rogers sees improvement.

"I'm in the strengthening phase," he said. "I'm starting to do plyometrics, and I'm really, really starting to see results."

Rogers is scheduled to start throwing a baseball May 7.

"I'll start at 45 feet and gradually work my way back," he said. "I'll start throwing three times a week, and gradually move out to 50 feet, 60 feet, 90 feet, 120 feet."

When will Rogers return to the mound? "It all depends on how well I progress and whether I have any setbacks," he said.