Kumar Rocker's debut in the majors finally arrived. It was a mixed bag for his highly anticipated first outing.
Rocker threw four innings for the Texas Rangers on Thursday night in their series opener against the Seattle Mariners. It was the conclusion of a lengthy journey through the pro game for the one-time college phenom and the top pitching prospect in the Rangers organization.
With his parents watching from the stands, Rocker endured a shaky start, giving up a single to Victor Robles on the first pitch of his career and a dribbling single to Julio Rodriguez. But he escaped the first without damage getting strikeouts of Cal Raleigh and Randy Arozarena, and a flyout to the warning track from Luke Raley.
He eventually struck out seven, at times leaving Seattle hitters guessing. Rocker missed a chance to leave with the lead after giving up the first run of his career on Justin Turner’s solo homer in the fourth, but watched as his teammates came back from a three-run deficit to claim a 5-4 win over the Mariners.
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Rocker was pulled after throwing 74 pitches. He allowed three hits and walked two to go along with the seven strikeouts.
“We got him where we wanted him, around 75 pitches, and he’s got to feel good about that start,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “I’m sure he was nervous out there, and then the first two guys get hits, and, you know, he’s got runners in scoring position, nobody out, and he made pitches when he had to. So it says a lot about him.”
After being a dominant star in college at Vanderbilt, Rocker was the 10th overall pick by the Mets in 2021 amateur draft and went unsigned due to medical concerns. Texas drafted him third overall in 2022 and he has recovered from Tommy John surgery in May 2023 to earn the promotion leading to Thursday’s debut.
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"It’s been an incredible journey," Kumar Rocker's mother, Lu Rocker said on the Rangers TV broadcast. “And he’s just come out just fighting, putting his head down, and just working hard.”
Rocker smiled when talking about having his parents in the stands for his first start in the big leagues.
“(It means) a lot. I’ve been blessed,” Rocker said. “And I also play for them. Everything I do is for them, from college to here, just trying to make them proud.”
Texas general manager Chris Young said it was a “fun weekend” for the Rangers with Rocker's debut, followed by Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer scheduled to start Friday and Saturday.
“Obviously we’re getting Max and Jacob back on subsequent days and then on top of that having our top draft pick from a couple of years ago make his debut. Someone who is not just making a September debut, someone who has really kind of flown through the minor leagues because of his performance who has now earned the opportunity to pitch in the big leagues,” Young said.
The 24-year-old Rocker has a 1.96 ERA in 10 games for three different Rangers affiliates since July 5. In his final two starts for Triple-A Round Rock, he had 18 strikeouts over 10 innings, and finished with 47 strikeouts and four walks in 29 2/3 innings over seven starts combined for Double-A Frisco and Round Rock.
“I'm excited. I'll say that. The fans should be. This is a big part of our future when you're looking at Kumar and Jack (Leiter) and young guys that come up,” Bochy said.
For Rocker, the key to bouncing back from his tough start to the game was to rely on his “favorites”— a sinker, and his wipeout slider that helped lead to 17 swings and misses from Seattle.
“That’s the beauty of that pitch,” Rocker said. “I'm glad I have it, glad I work on it, and things can be a little bit better once that (fastball) command comes back.”
Rocker's dad, Tracy, is the defensive line coach for the Tennessee Titans. Tracy Rocker left the team following practice on Thursday to fly to see his son make his first start.
“Forget being a coach. Now he’s the happiest parent, you know, one of the happiest parents in the world,” Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson said. “And to be able to go to see your son throw out the first pitch in a Major League Baseball game and your son has gone through the adversity he has and went through the minors to get to this point? Man, it’s a hell of a feeling.”
While the journey to get to the big leagues was long and winding, Rocker’s parents never had a doubt he’d get here.
“At 2 years old, I told my husband he’s going to be a pitcher,” Lu Rocker said.
