Kumar Rocker lives up to lengthy hype during impressive debut with Rangers

Kumar Rocker burst onto the scene in 2019 when the then 19-year-old college freshman threw a 19-strikeout no-hitter against Duke in a win-or-go-home Super Regional game at the College World Series.

For those counting at home, Rocker struck out 19 batters in that game, and each of the 19 strikeouts came against his slider. The Duke hitters knew what pitch they were getting in two-strike counts, and it didn't matter. We will get back to his slider in a minute.

Rocker would go on to have one of the more impressive and more decorated college careers of the 21st century, right beside his Vanderbilt co-ace, Jack Leiter. Both Leiter and Rocker would be selected in the first round of the 2021 MLB Draft, with Leiter going at pick two to the Texas Rangers and Rocker going at pick 10 to the New York Mets.

But after reviewing Rocker's physical and medical information, the Mets went back on their offer of a $6 million signing bonus. To everybody's surprise, Rocker would go unsigned and end up playing professional ball with the Tri-City ValleyCats the next year.

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Rangers prospect Kumar Rocker dazzled in long-awaited MLB debut

Following a year with the ValleyCats, Rocker was selected in the first round again, this time by the same Texas Rangers that selected his former teammate Jack Leiter a year before.

After dominating the minor leagues for a few seasons, Rocker finally got the call to the big leagues in 2024. Three years after he was first selected and five years after his impressive Super Regional no-hitter.

And Rocker showed up as advertised.

The Rangers prospect struck out seven hitters in four dominant innings during his MLB debut. Frequently throughout the game, Rocker got embarassing swing and misses on his devastating slider, much like he did in college.

He looked to be the prospect that everybody assumed him to be back in 2021 when the Mets first picked him.

The Rangers were able to trot out Leiter, Rocker and Jacob deGrom in three consecutive games, giving them quite the name value on their pitching rotation. If Leiter can continue improving and deGrom can return from Tommy John like the pitcher he used to be, the Rangers could have quite the incredible pitching staff next year.