The Rangers are placing Kumar Rocker on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder impingement, manager Bruce Bochy told the team’s beat (including Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News). Gerson Garabito has been recalled to add an extra bullpen arm for the time being.
Spring Training injuries to Cody Bradford and Jon Gray opened the door for Rocker to begin the season as the fifth starter. The former #3 overall pick had blitzed through the minor leagues late last season. Rocker was utterly dominant following his return from Tommy John surgery, posting a 1.96 ERA with 55 strikeouts over 36 2/3 minor league innings. He held his own over his first three MLB starts, allowing five earned runs with 14 punchouts across 11 2/3 frames.
It has been a completely different story through the first month of this season. Rocker has been hit hard in three of his five outings. None was worse than last night’s start in Sacramento. Rocker failed to make it out of the second inning while giving up five runs in a loss to the A’s. He has surrendered an 8.10 earned run average overall. He’s striking out just 16.8% of opponents. His swinging strike rate — which had sat at a plus 13.3% mark over his three MLB appearances last September — is down to 10.8%. Rocker’s fastball is still sitting above 95 MPH on average, but the stuff clearly hasn’t been sharp.
Bochy didn’t provide a timeline for Rocker’s return. He’ll be out for at least a couple weeks, and it’s possible the Rangers will option him back to Triple-A Round Rock once he’s healthy. Patrick Corbin is in the major league rotation after his late signing delayed his season debut by a couple weeks. Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Tyler Mahle are at the top of the staff. Jack Leiter is on the IL because of a blister, but he made it through 4 2/3 scoreless innings during a rehab start on Tuesday. There’s a good chance he’ll be activated for Sunday’s game in San Francisco. He has worked 10 innings of one-run ball over his first two starts.
Mets did the right thing letting him go
(They didnt do right with replacement pick but thats besides the point)
Chronic case of Suckitis
Mets were smart letting Rocker go.
Rocker has a 4.28 FIP this season. Most of his troubles has been due to bad luck. That and the injury.
1.75 whip isn’t bad luck. It’s horrendous. I think you over value FIP.
You’re over valuing WHIP. When someone has a 1.75 WHIP and 4.28 FIP, that’s horrendous luck.
No it’s not. It’s called FIP only grades 40% of your outcomes. Most over rated stat in baseball.
His average exit velocity is over 92 against him. Thats not bad luck.
You’re wrong, of course. But you’re entitled to whatever dumb opinion that pops into your head.
No you’re wrong but it’s easy to claim you’re right. Rocker is not the victim of bad luck and his fielders are not letting him down. He is getting hit hard.
I really expected optioned today
probably can use time off as his stats show he needs to regroup thoughts on pitch selections
I guess the Mets were right. Good on them for letting him sign elsewhere.
Except they used the 11th pick in 2022 on Parada. So maybe Rocker was the better choice.
They both won’t amount to anything, in my humble opinion.
Problem is AAA isn’t as tough as it was pre covid . This is why alot of players coming up are struggling
cplwhite: What data do you have to prove this?
He belongs in Detroit, anyways.
Bummer, it would be good to let him get back to AAA for a few anyway. He hasn’t looked that great this season, struggling to land his off speed stuff
Kennedi Landry did a piece that showed his home/road splits. It’s a very small sample size, but he’s been lights out at his home park Globe Life Field.
Rocker seems to be struggling with consistency in his outings. Looks like his fastball is flat and hes showing it a bit early. The slider is amazing when he’s got it going, a real wipeout pitch. A little more seasoning in the minors to recapture the consistency is probably best, I agree.
Another overhyped Boras client.
IMO, both sides should’ve come together and agreed that Rocker needed surgery. Boras held out and then Rocker pitches Indy ball, gets drafted one year later, and still has the surgery anyway.
Boras is stubborn as a mule. And I am sure he appreciates that comment.
That said, he was better this year at getting his clients contracts earlier on in the off-season, but he still doesn’t recognize a good deal when he sees it, and overplays his hand.
He’s 25 years old, so I’ll refrain from calling him overhyped or a bust. Check back with me in 2027.
How about Patrick Corbin? He is proving to be a valiable addition. Im sure he is out the door as soon as Gray and Bradford get healthy but he has put in some good innings.