Rangers’ Kumar Rocker Punches Out Seven in Dazzling MLB Debut
Rookie right-hander Kumar Rocker lived up to the hype in his highly-anticipated major league debut Thursday at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.
The 24-year-old hurler quieted the Mariners lineup across four innings, recording seven strikeouts on 74 pitches. He surrendered just three hits, including a solo blast from Justin Turner that proved to be the only run against him.
Rocker’s command was a bit of an issue, as he allowed a pair of walks, both coming in the third inning, elevating his pitch count. But he neutralized those threats with his ability to generate an impressive level of swing-and-miss.
Despite featuring a four-pitch mix, Rocker – baseball’s No. 95 top prospect and No. 2 in the Texas Rangers’ system per MLB Pipeline – mostly leaned on his fastball-slider combo to induce 17 whiffs on 42 swings, resulting in a 40-percent clip.
The young righty’s four-seamer exploded out of his hand, averaging 96.7 mph while topping out at 97.6. It also generated a trio of whiffs in his debut.
“That was one of the more impressive debuts I’ve seen,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy told reporters post-game, including MLB.com’s Josh Kirshenbaum.
But it was Rocker’s devastating slider that stole headlines, inducing 13 whiffs on 21 swings (62 percent) and was responsible for five of his seven strikeouts on the night.
Rocker’s performance was even more impressive when considering the adversity he faced out of the gate in the bottom of the first inning.
The 6-foot-5 starter, who made history as the first player of Indian descent to debut in the majors, allowed a pair of singles to Victor Robles and Julio Rodríguez to begin the frame. But instead of losing his composure, he settled back in and retired the next three batters he faced, two via strikeout.
“We know about his stuff,” Bochy said. “You look at what he was doing in the Minor Leagues, and that’s why he’s up here. But what stands out is his composure, the poise he showed out there.”
“That first inning, trust me, that’s as nervous as you can be, when you make your first Major League start. He didn’t let it get away from him, made pitches. He just looked so focused out there.”
Though Rocker only lasted four innings before hitting his pitch count, limiting Seattle’s offence to one run kept his club in the game, even after the bullpen surrendered a three-run fifth. Still, Texas’ lineup responded with a few outbursts in the later innings, ultimately completing a 5-4 comeback victory.
Of course, that wouldn’t have been possible without the advanced maturity the team’s rookie starter displayed during his first major league outing.
“Try to play the situation that it is and play it as it comes,” Rocker said of his mindset. “Take it one pitch at a time; if you try to do too much in those situations, you probably find yourself getting beat. I did what I could with it, and it ended up going in my favour.”
Rocker has endured a long and winding road to the big leagues in his young professional career. In 2018, he was selected out of high school in the 38th round by the Colorado Rockies but instead opted to attend Vanderbilt University. Three years later, the New York Mets called his name with the 10th pick in the draft, although he didn’t sign after injury concerns were raised.
Instead, the Watkinsville, Georgia, native re-entered the draft a year later and was selected by the Rangers organization third overall – and they made sure he put pen to paper this time.
Following Tommy John surgery last season, Rocker began a rehab assignment in the Complex League this past July, making a trio of starts before advancing to Double-A. He dominated over five starts there, pitching to a sterling 0.46 ERA while punching out 29 over 19.2 innings.
After that, it was off to Triple-A, where he allowed just two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out 18 in two starts. That quickly prompted his big-league promotion, and that’s where he’ll likely spend the remainder of this season.
The Rangers may be out of the playoff race. However, they have a pair of exciting arms lined up to follow Rocker against the Mariners this weekend, with Jacob deGrom making his 2024 debut on Friday and Max Scherzer returning from the 15-day IL the following day.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Gamecock Central. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.