Rangers Introduce Kumar Rocker

The latest first-round pick joins an organization that is already brimming with high-level pitching in its farm system.

The Texas Rangers don’t appear to be in a hurry to drop Kumar Rocker into the crucible of minor-league baseball.

The Rangers introduced Rocker to the media earlier this week at Globe Life Field before first pitch of series opener with the Chicago White Sox. In that game, two former first-round picks made their Major League debuts — pitcher Cole Ragans and outfielder Bubba Thompson.

Even though Rocker spent part of 2022 with the independent Tri-City Valley Cats of the Frontier League, the Rangers will start him in Arizona to build up for instructional league, per The Dallas Morning News.

Rocker was the Rangers’ first-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft. His selection was a surprise to many, as Rocker was the New York Mets’ first-round pick in 2021, but he went unsigned after the Mets were uncertain about his medicals. That left Rocker to train for any professional opportunity he could get, which is when the Tri-City opportunity came up.

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 (three earned runs in 20 innings pitched) and four walks against 32 strikeouts (14.4 strikeouts per nine innings).

But none of that means the Rangers are in a rush to accelerate him through their system.

Rocker pitched at Vanderbilt with the Rangers’ first-round pick last season, Jack Leiter, who didn’t pitch in the Texas system last season. He returned to Vanderbilt to continue his education. That seemed to suit the Rangers, as Leiter was coming off an appearance in the College World Series.

Texas did start Leiter at Double-A this season, and he’s remained at Frisco. It’s not clear if Rocker, who won a national title at Vanderbilt in 2019, will get the same treatment.

What is clear is that that Rocker is joining at Rangers farm system brimming with pitching talent.

As of Aug. 4, 13 of the Rangers’ Top 30 prospects, according to MLB.com, were pitchers. That doesn’t include Rocker. Leiter is the system’s No. 1 overall prospect. Ragans, who started on Thursday for Texas and was a 2016 first-round pick, is No. 29.

In between the two are Cole Winn (No. 5), Owen White (No. 6), Ricky Vanasco (No. 12), Tekoah Roby (No. 13), Antoine Kelly (No. 15), Cody Bradford (No. 19), Zak Kent (No. 20), Mitch Bratt (No. 22), Dane Acker (No. 23), A.J. Alexy (No. 24) and Yerry Rodriguez (No. 25). Kelly is a recent addition. He was one of two players the Rangers received for relief pitcher Matt Bush in a trade on Monday.

Rocker will likely slot into the Top 30 once he moves into the Rangers’ system. But there’s plenty of competition for him to overcome to get a shot at the Majors.

It’s the luxury the Rangers have as they introduce Rocker to the minors. He has the potential to be a great option. He’s just not the only one.

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard

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