The Texas Rangers are set to promote promising pitching prospect Kumar Rocker this week, with expectations for the 6-foot-5 right-hander to make his Major League Baseball debut on Thursday night against the Seattle Mariners.
This announcement came from the team on Monday, coinciding with an off day before a two-game World Series rematch against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Rangers, currently holding a record of 70-74, will then kick off a four-game series against the Mariners.
At just 24 years old, Rocker boasts an impressive 1.96 ERA across 10 games for three different Rangers affiliates since July 5, following his recovery from Tommy John surgery in May 2023. In his last two rehab outings with Triple-A Round Rock, he recorded 18 strikeouts over 10 innings, finishing with a total of 47 strikeouts and only four walks in 29 2/3 innings over seven starts for both Double-A Frisco and Round Rock.
Rocker was selected as the third overall pick by Texas in the 2022 MLB Draft, marking the second consecutive year he was chosen among the top 10 picks. He previously struck out 42 batters in 28 innings during six starts for Class-A Hickory and was on the verge of a promotion in 2023 before his surgery. His big league debut comes just under 16 months after that procedure.
The Rangers drafted Rocker following a year of uncertainty, when concerns over his physical condition led to the New York Mets not signing him despite being the 10th overall pick in the 2021 draft. The Rangers have indicated that his elbow surgery stemmed from an injury sustained while pitching for Hickory.
During his collegiate career at Vanderbilt, Rocker achieved a record of 28-10 with a 2.89 ERA over 42 games from 2019 to 2021. He played alongside right-hander Jack Leiter, who was drafted by the Rangers with the second overall pick in 2021 and made his own MLB debut this season, becoming a vital part of the Rangers’ rotation.
