Kumar Rocker, Jack Leiter Become Rangers ‘Package Deal’

Rangers newest first-rounder excited to re-join his former Vanderbilt teammate as Texas goes back-to-back Commodores in consecutive drafts.

Last year, the Texas Rangers chose the certainty of taking Jack Leiter at No. 2 overall and watched as Kumar Rocker went No. 10 to the New York Mets.

The Rangers got an eyeful of both pitchers during the scouting process. Who would have thought a year later the Rangers would have ended up with both of them?

Even Rocker,taken No. 3 overall by the Rangers on Sunday, seemed stunned.

“I think we came as a package deal years later,” Rocker said with a smile.

Leiter just wrapped up an appearance at the MLB Futures Game in Los Angeles on Saturday, during which he threw a scoreless inning in relief.

Leiter and Rocker were teammates at Vanderbilt, where the pair anchored a rotation that reached the 2021 College World Series. Rocker won a ring with Vanderbilt in 2019 and was that CWS most outstanding player.

Rocker told MLB Network that he can’t wait to see his old teammate.

“That’s the boy right there, “Rocker said. “I’m excited to see Jackie soon.”

Kumar wasn’t connected to the Rangers in any mock drafts going into Sunday’s first round. He was on the board only because he wasn’t able to sign a deal with the Mets after he was selected. Rocker chose not to participate in the pre-draft medical process, and the Mets expressed concerns about his right arm during the post-draft medical process. That allowed the Mets to withdraw their $6 million signing bonus offer and get a compensatory pick for 2022.

After that, Rocker said, the work began to prepare for the next draft.

“On Aug. 1 at 5:01 p.m. is when it changed and I got to work after that,” Rocker said. “And then here we are today. It’s a beautiful process. I’m excited.”

Rocker did have arm surgery, his agent, Scott Boras, confirmed 10 months ago, but said it had nothing to do with his pitching.

The Rangers had to be confident with Rocker’s medicals, as they didn’t have a second-round pick after giving it up to sign Marcus Semien. The Rangers also had an "in" as they scouted Rocker during his short stint with the Tri-City Valley Cats of the Frontier League.

Former Rangers slugger Pete Incaviglia is the club’s manager.

Rocker showed he had top-end speed on his fastball at Tri-City, hitting 99 mph on the radar gun. He made five starts with Tri-City Valley, going 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA (3 ER/20.0 IP) and four walks against 32 strikeouts for a rate of 14.4 strikeouts per nine innings.

Rocker couldn’t contain his excitement. He looks ready to get rolling as a Ranger.

“Hard work pays off,” Rocker said.

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard

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