Inside The Rangers

Kumar Rocking! Top Rangers Pitching Prospect Dominating In Double-A

Texas Rangers first-round pick Kumar Rocker is putting up some incredible numbers in his first starts for Frisco.

Matthew Postins

Jun 30, 2021; Omaha, Nebraska, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores pitcher Kumar Rocker (80) pitches in the fourth inning against the Mississippi St. Bulldogs at TD Ameritrade Park.
Jun 30, 2021; Omaha, Nebraska, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores pitcher Kumar Rocker (80) pitches in the fourth inning against the Mississippi St. Bulldogs at TD Ameritrade Park. / Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
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This season is all about building up for 2025 for Texas Rangers 2022 first-round pick Kumar Rocker.

Well, he’s working fast.

Rocker pitched for the Double-A Frisco Roughriders on Friday and put up another stellar outing, his third official start since he returned from the injured list after Tommy John surgery last year.

The line? Four innings, no runs, three hits, no walks and eight strikeouts on just 51 pitches.

But it isn’t just Friday night that is turning heads when it comes to the progress of the Rangers’ No. 3 prospect.

In his three starts with Frisco, he hasn’t given up a run in 11 innings. He’s only given up five hits. He’s struck out 16 and walked one. And he’s shown off some electrifying stuff in the process.

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Before he was assigned to Frisco on July 26, he logged three injury rehab starts with the Rangers’ Arizona Complex League team. Against rookies, he was 0-1 with a 6.43 ERA in seven innings. He struck out eight and walked one.

The injury rehab stint, which started in July, gave him a chance to build up for a full-time return to the minor leagues. MLB Pipeline still lists Rocker as a potential 2026 call-up for the Rangers. Double-A is the highest level Rocker has pitched at professionally.

Rocker had Tommy John surgery on May 22 of last year after he logged six starts with High-A Hickory. He was 2-2 with a 3.86 ERA, with 42 strikeouts and seven walks in 28 innings.

The No. 3 overall selection has been in Arlington on a few occasions this season to throw off the mound at Globe Life Field in front of the Major League coaching staff. Rocker was a college teammate of Rangers 2021 first-round pick Jack Leiter at Vanderbilt.

Texas got Rocker a year after he was taken No. 10 overall by the New York Mets in 2021. But the Mets and Rocker couldn’t agree to a contract, as the Mets has concerns over the right-hander’s medicals. He had shoulder surgery that September, played with the with the Tri-City ValleyCats of the Frontier League in the spring of 2023 and then re-entered the MLB Draft.

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Matthew Postins

MATTHEW POSTINS

Matthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist who covers the Texas Rangers for Fan Nation/SI and also writes about the Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies. He also covers the Big 12 for HeartlandCollegeSports.com.

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