Kumar Rocker Will Make His MLB Debut for the Texas Rangers on Thursday

According to Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News and Texas Rangers beat writer on September 9, the No. 2 MLBpipeline.com Rangers starting pitcher prospect Kumar Rocker will make his Major League Baseball debut on Thursday against the Seattle Mariners on the road.

BREAKING: Kumar Rocker is being promoted to the major leagues, will start for the Rangers on Thursday at Seattle. https://t.co/OIegWqZ7h7

— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) September 9, 2024

Rocker is ranked No. 97 on the MLBpipeline.com Top 100 Prospect Rankings.

Rocker, 24, was born in Watkinsville, Ga., and has maternal grandparents who immigrated to the United States from Andhra Pradesh, India.

In his first Triple-A start on August 28, Rocker struck out ten batters with Triple-A Round Rock against the Los Angeles Dodgers affiliate, Triple-A Oklahoma City, while throwing five innings, allowed one hit, no earned runs, and faced 16 batters.

According to R.J. Anderson of CBSsports.com, his fastball touched 99.9 mph in his first Triple-A start and generated 15 swinging strikes on 35 attempts while throwing 67 pitches and 44 strikes.

In his last start against Triple-A Las Vegas on September 8, Rocker threw five innings, allowing three hits, two earned runs, one home run, and one walk, and struck out eight batters.

Earlier this season, Rocker was placed on the 60-day injured list on March 24, 2024, while recovering from Tommy John Surgery.

He was activated on July 5 to the Rangers Complex Level, posting a 0-1 record with a 6.43 ERA in three appearances and two starts. He pitched seven innings, allowing 11 hits, five earned runs, one home run, one walk, and eight strikeouts before he was assigned to Double-A Frisco on July 26.

In Double-A Frisco, Rocker started in five games with no decisions, eclipsing a 0.46 ERA, throwing 19.2 innings, allowing nine hits, one earned run, three walks, 29 strikeouts, and a 0.610 WHIP.

Last year, during his first year with the Rangers organization in High-A Hickory, Rocker went 2-2, posting a 3.86 ERA. He threw 28 innings in six starts, allowing 21 hits, 12 earned runs, two home runs, seven walks, 42 strikeouts, and a 1.000 WHIP before being shut down for the remainder of the 2022 regular season after his final start on May 11 at High-A Bowling Green on the road.

Rocker has been one of the most talked about pitching prospects in the last six years, playing at Vanderbilt University for three seasons before being drafted by the New York Mets as the 10th overall pick in the 2021 Major League Baseball Draft.

Rocker and the Mets had verbally agreed on a $6 million signing bonus, which was $1.4 million above the slot value of where he was selected overall.

The Mets decided not to make Rocker an offer after reviewing his medical information after signing him. They did not participate in a medical program that Major League Baseball provided before the start of the 2021 draft.

Rocker went 28-10 with a 2.89 ERA in 39 collegiate starts, pitching 236.2 innings, allowing 169 hits, ten home runs, walking 68 batters, and recording 321 strikeouts in his three seasons at Vanderbilt University.

Rocker played in the Arizona Fall League during the winter of 2022. He posted a 2-1 record with a 4.50 ERA, starting in six games and pitching 14 innings, allowing 12 hits, walking 12 batters, and striking out 32.

Rocker played in the Frontier League with the Tri-City ValleyCats after signing on May 13, 2022, before being drafted and signing with the Texas Rangers in the 2022 MLB Draft. Rocker started in five games with a 1-0 record and 1.35 ERA through 20 innings pitched, allowing 11 hits, two home runs, walking four batters, and striking out 32 before landing with the Rangers.

The Rangers selected him in the first round as the third overall selection and later signed for a $5.2M signing bonus. He did not play in affiliate ball last season.

In the final month of the 2024 regular season, Rocker will join his former teammate at Vanderbilt University, Jack Leiter, in the starting pitching rotation along with Andrew Heaney, Nathan Eovaldi, and Cody Bradford.

Texas has two starting pitchers on the 60-day injured list with Jon Gray and Jacob deGrom and two other starting pitchers on the 15-day injured list with Max Scherzer and Tyler Mahle in the final two weeks of the regular season.

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Photo Credit: Kumar Rocker #80 of the Texas Rangers delivers a pitch during a spring training game against the Colorado Rockies at Surprise Stadium on February 28, 2023 in Surprise, Arizona. (Photo by Bailey Orr/Texas Rangers/Getty Images)