Rangers make big announcement about Kumar Rocker

Vanderbilt pitcher Kumar Rocker is greeted by fans as the baseball team heads toTD Ameritrade Park for their game against Michigan in the 2019 NCAA Men’s College World Series Finals at Tuesday, June 25, 2019, in Omaha, Neb. Mandatory Credit: George Walker IV / Tennessean.com

The Texas Rangers announced some big news about top pitching prospect Kumar Rocker on Monday.

Rocker, the No. 3 pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, is being called up to make his MLB debut. The former Vanderbilt star will start Thursday against the Seattle Mariners.

Rocker was a tremendously hyped pitcher at Vanderbilt and was regarded as a potential first overall pick at one point. However, he fell to the New York Mets at No. 10 in 2021 due to signability concerns. That started a whole saga in which Mets doctors had such serious concerns about Rocker’s elbow that the team did not even sign him.

Despite the controversy, the Rangers took Rocker even higher in 2022. He wound up undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2023, but the 24-year-old had been electric in the minors since returning this season. In 10 appearances across three levels of the minors, he has a 1.96 ERA with an astonishing five walks and 55 strikeouts in just 36.2 innings.

If Rocker can carry his dominant form into this brief cameo, he has a real chance at being in the Texas rotation next season.

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