On Second Thought, Texas Rangers Considering Calling up Top Prospect Kumar Rocker

Could the Texas Rangers call up their top pitching prospect, Kumar Rocker, by the end of the regular season? They're considering the option.

Jun 19, 2021; Omaha, Nebraska, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores pitcher Kumar Rocker (80) throws against the Arizona Wildcats at TD Ameritrade Park. / Bruce Thorson-Imagn Images

ARLINGTON — One day after Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said he felt top prospect Kumar Rocker was where “he should be” to develop for 2025, it appears his boss hasn’t closed the door on a Rocker promotion just yet.

The Dallas Morning News quoted Rangers general manager Chris Young as saying the organization hasn’t “ruled out the possibility” of calling up Rocker, who lasted pitched on Friday with Triple-A Round Rock.

Bochy confirmed Rocker was part of their discussions in mapping out the rotation for the rest of the season before Sunday's series finale. That includes the now-likely returns of Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer.

“Nothing close there. We’ve talked about it, so that’s part of our discussions,” Bochy said.

Just last week, Young told reporters that calling Rocker up after one Triple-A start was “…getting too far ahead right now.” That was after Rocker fanned 10 in his Round Rock debut. Rocker is rated the organization's top prospect.

So what’s changed after one more minor-league start? Rocker keeps mowing down hitters.

He struck out eight in five innings on Friday, giving up two earned runs and three hits.

Th 24-year-old has now pitched in 10 minor league games and has an 0-1 record with a 1.96 ERA in 36.2 innings. That includes 55 strikeouts and five walks while batters are hitting .180 against him.

Bochy said that Rocker is “not the same pitcher” he saw during spring training in 2023, which was before Rocker suffered the elbow injury that led to Tommy John surgery. He also said that Rocker was on a timetable similar to deGrom’s, who suffered the same injury around the same time.

deGrom could be activated to start this week, likely in Seattle.

There are many other moving parts with Rocker. He’s a young pitcher coming off a major surgery and has only thrown 36 innings. Young said the Rangers wanted to keep him on an innings restriction this season (the Morning News report referenced 50 innings). The right-hander isn’t on the 40-man roster, so any move would require both a 40-man and a 28-man move. It would also start the clock on Rocker’s Major League service time.

He's also a home-grown pitcher, a somewhat rare commodity in recent Rangers history. Bochy knows that value.

“There’s no doubt it keeps you from going outside,” Bochy said. “You have internal options. So it’s good to have Kumar healthy and giving us a great option.”