Rangers righty Kumar Rocker made his Spring Training debut today against the Royals. The results weren’t good — he allowed four runs in his inning of work — but that’s inconsequential this early in camp.
As Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News writes, manager Bruce Bochy and GM Chris Young have left open the possibility for Rocker to break camp. That might require an injury elsewhere in the rotation, however, as it seems Rocker enters Spring Training sixth on the depth chart. Texas has a veteran top four: Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, Tyler Mahle and Jon Gray. The fifth spot could come down to a battle between Rocker and left-hander Cody Bradford — with the latter potentially having the leg up.
“We’re going to see where we come out of camp, where we are from a medical standpoint, who’s healthy, how guys have thrown the ball, but (Rocker is) certainly one that is in our plans,” Young said. “We just can’t tell you exactly how at this point.” The third overall pick in the 2022 draft, Rocker earned a brief debut last September. He started three games, allowing six runs (five earned) through 11 2/3 innings. The 6’5″ righty recorded 14 strikeouts with an excellent 13.3% swinging strike rate. It’s an exceedingly small sample, but he looks capable of missing bats at the highest level.
Rocker averaged 96 MPH on his heater, while opponents had few answers for his slider. The latter pitch may already be one of the game’s top breaking balls. Baseball America graded the slider as a plus-plus offering (70 on the 20-80 scale) while ranking Rocker among their top 20 prospects. The 25-year-old will certainly be a factor at some point this season, though it remains to be seen how the Rangers want to handle his workload. Rocker underwent Tommy John surgery in 2023 and has all of 19 professional appearances under his belt. He has tallied fewer than 30 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. Rocker carved up minor league hitters upon returning from the surgery, working to a 1.96 ERA with 55 strikeouts in 36 2/3 frames over 10 appearances.
The 27-year-old Bradford has almost the polar opposite approach. He’s a soft-tossing lefty who relies on a plus changeup and elite command. Despite lacking huge stuff, Bradford turned in a 3.54 ERA with a solid 22.7% strikeout rate over 76 1/3 innings last season. A back injury cost him three months, but he was a quietly productive starter when healthy. Both Rocker and Bradford have minor league options remaining. While Dane Dunning remains on hand as well, he’s likelier to pitch in long relief after a rough ’24 season.
There’s no doubt about Eovaldi’s role. He’ll be back in the top half of the rotation after re-signing on a three-year, $75MM free agent deal. The 13-year MLB veteran has been incredibly consistent, turning in a sub-4.00 ERA in five straight seasons. That hasn’t stopped him from using exhibition play to tinker with his arsenal.
Eovaldi told reporters last week that he has been working on a two-seam fastball throughout the offseason (link via Kennedi Landry of MLB.com). The righty confirmed that he used it a few times in his Spring Training debut on Friday against Kansas City. Brooks Baseball tracked five of his pitches as sinkers (which is the two-seam fastball) over two innings. Eovaldi has had a five-pitch mix for most of his career: four-seam, splitter, cutter, curveball and a slider that he only throws against right-handed hitters. He told Landry and other reporters that he’ll continue to work on the two-seam, which he wants to run up and in against righty batters to keep them off the splitter lower in the zone.
One player who has yet to get his exhibition season underway: second-year left fielder Wyatt Langford. Jeff Wilson of DLLS Sports was among those to report last week that Langford was being held back from baseball activities for a few days after being diagnosed with a mild oblique strain. Bochy maintained that the Rangers consider this a minor setback and anticipate that Langford will be ready for Opening Day. He’ll look to build off a solid rookie season in which he hit .253/.325/.415 with 16 homers across 557 plate appearances.
I have little doubt that injuries will open up rotation spots for both Rocker and Dunning as well as Leiter in all likelihood.
Agreed. I would put money on Rocker getting more starts than deGrom this year
How much money?
It’s a reasonable bet with deGrom’s injury history.
Rocker has an injury history too.
But almost no one has an injury history like DeGrom’s.
What are you talking about? Many pitchers have have had Tommy John surgeries and lat issues. His arm is going to be fresh. Chris Sale had missed as much time as Degrom. Luis Severino came back last year with the same four year stretch of injury problems. It happens all the time.
It doesn’t happen all the time. You just gave two examples. How many more do you have that you can say it happens all the time?
Verlander just missed two years and then came back to win a cy young. You can dismiss it all you want but that three major pitchers in the last couple years alone. If Degrom had the same injury problem over the last four years then you might have a case but it was different injuries. He has a fresh elbow with no shoulder problems. Lat strains and such aren’t life long.
I dismiss what you say because I don’t really think it’s based in reality. Verlander has been a very healthy pitcher throughout his career, until very recently. deGrom has had numerous injuries and he’s turning 37. He’s had two Tommy John surgeries and a scapula injury, not to mention other elbow issues. I have no doubt what you’re saying will prove to not be true. No doubt whatsoever. I’m a Mets fan so I wish deGrom well but I know he’s not going to all of a sudden at 37 figure out health. I also don’t know why because you named three pitchers, which is not a lot, that means deGrom will follow their path. There really is no correlation. Severino is much younger, Verlander has had a much more healthy career, the only guy that I would really say is a fair comparison is Sale. That’s one guy.
Sorry I didn’t do a book report for with every other pitcher to play the game. Degrom had two seasons with the Mets where he missed half seasons and then had a Tommy John surgery with the Rangers. You said Verlander was healthy but Degrom is coming off the same exact injury that Verlander had.Verlander was 3 years older then him. His elbow is healthy and he was still throwing 100mph. You keep saying age like there’s a magic number when he 36 years old. I didn’t say he would win a cy young in five years. We are talking this season and I would take my chances with him with just about anyone in baseball.
You can’t do a book report because there are no other examples of this. Pitchers who miss massive parts of several seasons and are now in their late 30s almost never come back and certainly don’t win Cy Youngs. You want the guy to do well and I can appreciate that. And I absolutely believe he’ll be dominant when he pitches, but he’s not going to pitch a significant part of the season. There’s nothing to support he will. That’s a fantasy. And stop citing Verlander. Verlander has had mostly a very healthy career unlike the degrom. And Verlander had one Tommy John surgery not two like deGrom. That makes a big difference. The fact that he still insists on throwing over 100 miles an hour is to his detriment. His body cannot sustain that velocity and he refuses to take any velocity off his fastball. Age is a magic number. Pitchers his age who have suffered major injuries, rarely remain healthy.
Degrom will win his third cy young this year.
Despite Rocker’s injury history, I think deGrom will never pitch anywhere near a full season again. I don’t even see him ever pitching half a season again. He’s old at this point with a terrible injury history. I don’t see it. And to think that deGrom is going to win a Cy Young award this year? Come back to reality please.
He’s 36 without nearly the mileage on his arm as most pitchers his age. He will be the best pitcher in baseball by far again.
He’s going to be 37 years old next season and the last four seasons he hasn’t pitched more than 15 starts in any of the past four seasons. It’s not reality to expect him to be healthy enough to win a sang ever again.
Rocker belongs in Detroit, that’s obvious.
They never listen to the
Superfife.
Rocker said after his outing that he was filling up the zone, which is something he is working on doing more of this season. The Royals were seeing the ball well early on, and pounding those balls in the zone.
Kumar sounded optimistic and eager to continue to work after the preseason match, but his body language, while on the mound, suggested he was a bit frustrated with the results. Rocker looks more defined physically this year, more jacked, and speaks with more experience. I can see the hype.
Oh yeah me too. Nothing spells out success more than a pitcher that speaks with more experience.
@BadMojo Kumar exudes confidence this year, he doesn’t seem star struck. Less worried about making team, he’s refined his approach. Delivery is smoother all the way around from mound presence to interview presence. Teammate Wyatt Langford has expressed similar sentiments while comparing 2024 spring to the current 2025.
Rocker is in the right headspace to take the next step.
That heater and slider combo should keep him up in the bigs provided health. Think with the injury history to some of the starters he’ll get multiple chances to start and show his stuff.
If I were in a dynasty league, he’d be one of the guys I’d be looking at. Boras should’ve had him take a smaller bonus from the NYMs and have had surgery immediately. He’d be established by now, and that much closer to free agency.
Rangers are a sleeping Giant…… great offense w a rotation when healthy, easily top 10
Al west is there’s for the taking
FWIW, I think Rocker is a guy to track closely. If he has 1-2 good consecutive starts, I’d pick him up.
Langford 30/20. Carter 25/25. Going to wake up the astros… And sleeping mariners. Burger hitting 35, seagers 35 won’t have the impact that the kids do. Let’s hope degrom starts 10 or 12. Team is super dangerous and is being dismissed. See you in the odd number bochy year in November
Rangers are serious World series contenders.
Langford .275/100/32/100/32