American baseball player (born 1999)
Baseball player
Kumar Rocker (born November 22, 1999) is an American
professional baseball
pitcher in the
Texas Rangers organization. He played
college baseball for the
Vanderbilt Commodores . He was selected with the 10th pick in the
2021 Major League Baseball draft by the
New York Mets but was not signed. He was selected the following year by the
Texas Rangers with the third overall pick.
Amateur career
Rocker attended
North Oconee High School in
Bogart, Georgia . As a junior in 2017, he had a 1.63
earned run average (ERA) with 68
strikeouts in 55+ 2 ⁄3 innings.
[1] That year, he played in the
Under Armour All-America Baseball Game and Perfect Game All-American Classic.
[2] Later in the summer, he played for the
USA Baseball 18U National Team .
[3]
Rocker committed to
Vanderbilt University to play
college baseball .
[4]
[5] He was considered one of the top prospects for the
2018 Major League Baseball draft ,
[6]
[7] but was not selected until the 38th round by the
Colorado Rockies ,
[8] falling due to signability concerns. He did not sign with the Rockies and enrolled at Vanderbilt.
[9]
On June 8, 2019, Rocker became the first pitcher ever to throw a
no-hitter in the Super Regional round during the
NCAA Division I baseball tournament . He recorded 19 strikeouts as Vanderbilt beat Duke 3–0.
[10] Rocker was named the 2019
College World Series Most Outstanding Player after Vanderbilt captured the 2019
NCAA Division I Baseball Championship on June 26, 2019. Rocker won both his starts in the
College World Series and finished his freshman season with a 12–5 record. He was also named the 2019 Baseball America Freshman of the Year.
[11]
The
New York Mets selected Rocker with the 10th pick in the first round of the
2021 MLB draft . Rocker and the Mets had verbally agreed on a $6 million
signing bonus , $1.4 million above the slot value for the 10th pick, but the Mets decided not to make him an offer after reviewing his medical information.
[12] Rocker had not participated in a program that would have made his medical information available pre-draft; this allowed the Mets not to make him an offer and receive a compensatory selection in the 2022 MLB draft.
[13] Rocker's agent,
Scott Boras , stated that Rocker "requires no medical attention."
[13] However, Rocker had surgery on his shoulder in September.
[14] Rocker did not return to Vanderbilt after going unsigned.
[15]
Professional career
Tri-City ValleyCats
In advance of the
2022 MLB draft , on May 13, 2022, Rocker signed with the
Tri-City ValleyCats of the
Frontier League .
[16] Prior to the draft, Rocker had a 1.35 ERA with 32 strikeouts and four walks in 20 innings pitched for Tri-City, reaching 99 miles per hour (159 km/h) with his
fastball .
[17]
Texas Rangers
The
Texas Rangers selected Rocker in the first round, with the third overall selection, reuniting him with his former Vanderbilt teammate
Jack Leiter .
[18] On July 26, 2022, Rocker signed with Texas for a $5.2 million
signing bonus .
[19] Rocker did not appear in a game after signing, instead working out at the Rangers’ spring training facility.
[20] Following the 2022 season, Rocker played for the
Surprise Saguaros of the
Arizona Fall League .
[21] Over 6 games in the AFL, Rocker went 2–1 with a 4.50 ERA and 18 strikeouts over 14 innings.
[22]
Rocker received a non-roster invitation to major league spring training in 2023.
[23] He made 6 starts for the High-A
Hickory Crawdads , posting a 2-2 record and 3.86 ERA with 42 strikeouts in 28.0 innings pitched.
[24] On May 16, 2023, it was announced that Rocker would require
Tommy John surgery , ending his season.
[25]
Personal life
His father,
Tracy Rocker , played in the
National Football League (NFL),
[26] is a
College Football Hall of Famer
[27] from
Auburn University , and is the defensive line coach for the
Philadelphia Eagles .
[28] His maternal grandparents immigrated to the United States from
Andhra Pradesh , India. His parents met when his mother, Lalitha, was a student at the
University of Maryland and his father was playing for the
Washington Redskins .
[29]
References
^ Carter, Ivan (August 14, 2017).
"Perfect Game participants get taste of majors" . San Diego Union-Tribune . Retrieved August 1, 2021 .
^ Sanchez, Jesse (January 15, 2018).
"Big prospect soaks up wisdom at Dream Series" . Mlb.com . Retrieved June 27, 2019 .
^
"Rocker's summer full of travel, World Cup" . Oconeeenterprise.com. Retrieved June 27, 2019 .
^ Matthew Caldwell (November 8, 2017).
"North Oconee's Kumar Rocker signs with Vanderbilt to play baseball" . Onlineathens.com. Retrieved June 27, 2019 .
^
"ALL-USA Watch: Top baseball prospect Kumar Rocker still weighing decision to go pro or go to Vanderbilt" . Usatodayhss.com. May 1, 2018. Retrieved June 27, 2019 .
^
"MLB.com 2018 Prospect Watch | MLB.com" . M.mlb.com. May 24, 2013. Archived from
the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved June 27, 2019 .
^
"AOTW: Rocker pitching and hitting to help guide Titans to playoffs" . Oconeeenterprise.com. Retrieved June 27, 2019 .
^
"MLB Draft Tracker" . MLB.com . Retrieved June 27, 2019 .
^ Newman, Kyle (July 9, 2021).
"Rockies have glaring needs at starting pitcher, shortstop entering 2021 MLB Draft" . Denverpost.com. Retrieved August 2, 2021 .
^
"Vanderbilt freshman Kumar Rocker pitches first no-hitter in NCAA Super Regional history" . The Tennessean . Retrieved June 9, 2019 .
^ Cahill, Teddy.
"Kumar Rocker Named 2019 College Baseball Freshman Of The Year" . www.baseballamerica.com . Retrieved February 26, 2020 .
^ Passan, Jeff; McDaniel, Kiley (August 1, 2021).
"Mets don't sign top pick Rocker before deadline" . ESPN.com .
^
a
b DiComo, Anthony (August 1, 2021).
"Mets opt not to sign No. 10 pick Rocker" . MLB.com . Retrieved August 3, 2021 .
^
"How Rocker shoulder surgery impacts his Draft status" . MLB.com .
^
"Kumar Rocker does not sign with Mets before deadline, not returning to Vanderbilt" .
The Tennessean .
^ Franco, Anthony (May 13, 2022).
"Kumar Rocker Signs With Frontier League's Tri-City ValleyCats" . MLB Trade Rumors . Retrieved May 13, 2022 .
^
"99 mph Fastball" . Retrieved December 23, 2022 .
^
"Rangers pick fireballer Rocker at No. 3 overall" . MLB.com .
^ Grant, Evan (July 26, 2022).
"Texas Rangers announce signing of first-round selection Kumar Rocker" .
The Dallas Morning News . Retrieved July 26, 2022 .
^ Buchanan, Zach (October 4, 2022).
"A year in the wilderness behind him, Kumar Rocker is finally ready to speak with his arm" .
The Athletic . Retrieved October 5, 2022 .
^ Pontes, Geoff (October 3, 2022).
"Previewing 2022 Arizona Fall League Pitchers To Watch" .
Baseball America . Retrieved October 5, 2022 .
^ Callis, Jim (November 17, 2022).
"Top 30 prospects from 2022 Fall League" .
MLB.com . Retrieved November 20, 2022 .
^ Postins, Matthew (January 28, 2023).
"Rangers Invite Top Prospects to Spring Training" .
Sports Illustrated . Retrieved February 1, 2023 .
^
"Rangers' Kumar Rocker: Back on track at High-A" . cbssports.com . Retrieved May 16, 2023 .
^
"Rangers' Kumar Rocker: Will undergo Tommy John surgery" . cbssports.com . Retrieved May 16, 2023 .
^
"Rocker officially signs with Vanderbilt" . Oconeeenterprise.com. Retrieved June 27, 2019 .
^ Sparks, Adam.
"Kumar Rocker leads preseason No. 1 Vanderbilt in bid for repeat title at College World Series" . USA TODAY . Retrieved February 26, 2020 .
^
"Eagles add former Auburn star as defensive line coach" . nbcsports.com. Retrieved March 22, 2021 .
^ Sparks, Adam (June 8, 2019).
"Vanderbilt baseball: Why Kumar Rocker listened to mom, chose Commodores over big MLB payday" .
The Tennessean . Retrieved June 9, 2019 .
External links
1965 :
Rohr
1966 :
Chilcott
1967 :
Matlack
1968 :
Foli
1969 :
Sterling
1970 : Ambrow
1971 :
Puig
1972 : Bengton
1973 :
Mazzilli
1974 :
Speck
1975 :
Benton
1976 : Thurberg
1977 :
Backman
1978 :
Brooks
1979 :
Leary
1980 :
Strawberry ,
Beane ,
Gibbons
1981 :
Blocker
1982 :
Gooden
1983 :
E. Williams ,
Jefferson ,
Schiraldi
1984 :
Abner
1985 :
Jefferies
1986 : May
1987 :
Donnels
1988 : Proctor
1989 :
Zinter
1990 :
Burnitz
1991 : Shirley,
Jones
1992 :
Pr. Wilson ,
Roberts , Jon Ward
1993 : Presley
1994 :
Pa. Wilson ,
Long ,
Payton
1995 : Jaroncyk
1996 : Stratton
1997 : Goetz
1998 :
Tyner
1999: None
2000 :
Traber ,
Keppel
2001 :
Heilman ,
Wright
2002 :
Kazmir
2003 :
Milledge
2004 :
Humber
2005 :
Pelfrey
2006: None
2007 :
Kunz , Vineyard
2008 :
Davis ,
Havens , Holt
2009: None
2010 :
Harvey
2011 :
Nimmo ,
Fulmer
2012 :
Cecchini ,
Plawecki
2013 :
Smith
2014 :
Conforto
2015: None
2016 :
Dunn ,
Kay
2017 :
Peterson
2018 :
Kelenic
2019 :
Baty
2020 :
Crow-Armstrong
2021 :
Rocker
2022 :
Parada ,
J. Williams
2023 :
Houck
1965 :
Coleman
1966 :
Grieve
1967 : Jones
1968 :
Castle
1969 :
Burroughs
1970 : Maxwell
1971 : Quiroga
1972 :
Howell
1973 :
Clyde
1974 :
Boggs
1975 :
Gideon
1976 : Simpson
1977 : Hibner
1978: No first round pick
1979 :
Gleaton
1980 : Maki
1981 :
Darling ,
Lachowicz
1982: No first round pick
1983 :
Kunkel
1984 :
McDowell
1985 :
Witt
1986 :
Brown
1987 :
Bohanon ,
Haselman ,
Petkovsek
1988 :
Fariss
1989 :
Harris
1990 :
Smith
1991 :
Gil
1992 :
Helling
1993 :
Bell
1994: No first round pick
1995 :
Johnson
1996 :
Dickey ,
Marsonek ,
Lee
1997 :
Romano
1998 :
Carlos Peña
1999 :
Lewis , Head
2000 : Heard,
Godwin
2001 :
Teixeira
2002 :
Meyer
2003 :
Danks
2004 :
Diamond ,
Hurley
2005 :
Mayberry
2006 :
Kiker
2007 :
Beavan , Main,
Borbón ,
Ramírez ,
Hunter
2008 :
Smoak
2009 :
Purke ,
Scheppers
2010 : Skole,
Deglan ,
Jackson ,
Olt
2011 : Matthews, Cone
2012 :
Brinson ,
Gallo ,
Wiles
2013 :
Gonzalez ,
Demeritte
2014 :
Ortiz
2015 :
Tate
2016 :
Ragans
2017 :
Thompson ,
Seise
2018 :
Winn
2019 :
Jung
2020 :
Foscue
2021 :
Leiter
2022 :
Rocker
2023 :
Langford