Texas Rangers first-round pick Kumar Rocker made his Arizona Fall League debut on Tuesday night, starting for the Surprise Saguaros.
Rocker threw just one inning, but it was an eventful inning. It included his first strikeout as a member of the Rangers organization, as he fanned Robert Perez Jr. for the second out of the inning.
Rocker started the inning by getting Angel Martinez of Peoria to fly out to left field. After that, Rocker had some control issues. He walked Jackson Merrill and Alberto Rodriguez, which prompted a mound visit.
After striking out Perez, he threw a wild pitch that allowed the runners to advance 90 feet. He followed that by walking Tirso Ornelas to load the bases. But, Rocker got out of the jam by inducing a groundout from Connor Kokx to end the inning.
Rocker didn’t give up a hit, but he walked three and struck out one.
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).
Rocker pitched at Vanderbilt with the Rangers’ first-round pick last season, Jack Leiter. He didn’t pitch in the Rangers 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.
Rocker is already slotted as the No. 8 prospect in the Rangers system, per MLB.com.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard
Catch up with Inside the Rangers on Facebook and Twitter.
More must-reads: