Kumar Rocker

Kumar Rocker

25-Year-Old PitcherSP
Texas Rangers
2025 Fantasy Outlook
Few pitchers in recent memory returned from Tommy John surgery with such immediate and obvious success as Rocker at the end of 2024. He has significant pedigree and was a famous pitcher at Vanderbilt from 2019 through 2021, but Rocker wasn't on any top-100 prospect lists last season prior to returning to action. Rocker had Tommy John surgery in mid-May of 2023 and began his rehab assignment the first week of July 2024. That's a speedy recovery for a young, prized pitcher like Rocker, and after three short outings in the Arizona Complex League, the 6-foot-5 righty logged a 0.91 ERA, 0.57 WHIP and 47:4 K:BB in 29.2 innings over his next seven minor-league starts at Double-A and Triple-A. That level of dominance -- and the frontline-caliber stuff he was showing -- was not expected, but he quickly became the talk of the minors, culminating in a 10-K, one-hit, five-inning start for Triple-A Round Rock in late-August. Rocker made three big-league starts to close the year, with Texas signaling that he will be part of the rotation in 2025. His mid-90s fastball is a good pitch, but it's his mid-80s curveball (often mistakenly classified as a slider) that dominates hitters, particularly righties. If Rocker can add a quality cutter or changeup to his arsenal, that could allow him to be one of the better starters in the game, but as things stand, he should still rack up strikeouts on a per-start basis. He only logged 48.1 innings in 2024, so look for him to fall short of 150 innings this year. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
From Preseason
$Signed a one-year contract with the Rangers in September of 2024.
Optioned to Triple-A
PTexas Rangers
September 27, 2024
The Rangers optioned Rocker to Triple-A Round Rock on Friday.
ANALYSIS
Rocker made his final start of the season Thursday against Oakland, so the Rangers will send him and Jack Leiter back out to the minors in order to bring in additional bullpen depth in the form of Marc Church and Daniel Robert. Rocker will finish the 2024 campaign with a 3.86 ERA and 1.54 WHIP alongside a 14:6 K:BB through 11.2 innings after making the first three starts of his MLB career in September.
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Pitching Stats
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2024
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
73
Last 10 Games
73
Last 5 Games
73
How many pitches does Kumar Rocker generally throw?
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
What part of the game does Kumar Rocker generally pitch?
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2022
 
 
-48%
BAA vs LHP
2024
 
 
-48%
BAA vs LHP
2023
No Stats
2022
No Stats
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2022vs Left .182 28 8 5 4 0 0 0
Since 2022vs Right .348 27 6 1 8 0 0 1
2024vs Left .182 28 8 5 4 0 0 0
2024vs Right .348 27 6 1 8 0 0 1
2023vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2022
 
 
-28%
ERA at Home
2024
 
 
-28%
ERA at Home
2023
No Stats
2022
No Stats
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2022Home 3.00 2.00 3.0 0 1 0 15.0 12.0 0.0
Since 2022Away 4.15 1.38 8.2 0 1 0 9.3 2.1 1.0
2024Home 3.00 2.00 3.0 0 1 0 15.0 12.0 0.0
2024Away 4.15 1.38 8.2 0 1 0 9.3 2.1 1.0
2023Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Kumar Rocker compare to other starting pitchers?
This section compares his stats with all starting pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 120 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • K/BB
    Strikeout to walk ratio.
  • K/9
    Average strikeouts per nine innings.
  • BB/9
    Average walks per nine innings.
  • HR/9
    Average home runs allowed per nine innings.
  • Fastball
    Average fastball velocity.
  • ERA
    Earned run average. The average earned runs allowed per nine innings.
  • WHIP
    Walks plus hits per inning pitched.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many balls in play against a pitcher go for hits.
  • GB/FB
    Groundball to flyball ratio. The higher the number, the more likely a pitcher is to induce groundballs.
  • Left On Base
    The percentage of base runners that a pitcher strands on base over the course of a season.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Barrels/BBE
    The percentage of batted ball events resulting in a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Spin Rate
    Spin Rate is the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
  • Balls Hit 95+ MPH
    The percentage of batted balls hit that met or exceeded the 95 MPH threshold.
  • Swinging Strike
    The percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss.
K/BB
2.33
 
K/9
10.8
 
BB/9
4.6
 
HR/9
0.8
 
Fastball
95.7 mph
 
ERA
3.86
 
WHIP
1.54
 
BABIP
.368
 
GB/FB
2.43
 
Left On Base
72.3%
 
Exit Velocity
82.6 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
1.4%
 
Spin Rate
2140 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
25.4%
 
Swinging Strike
12.8%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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2023 Fantasy Outlook
Unfortunately, Rocker's fame and draft pedigree (selected third overall by Texas) greatly outstrip his current dynasty value. Rocker famously didn't sign in 2021 after the Mets selected him with the No. 10 overall pick and he subsequently failed his physical. He had arthroscopic shoulder surgery last September and returned to the mound in the summer of 2022 for the Tri-City ValleyCats of the Frontier League. Rocker's signature upper-90s fastball and 70-grade slider were intact when scouts went to see him, which was enough for him to get a big payday. However, he went to the Arizona Fall League after signing and looked like a future reliever. He walked 12 in 14 innings over six appearances and essentially only trusted his slider. It's possible that Rocker was just disinterested and will look like a different pitcher this spring, but the Rangers shocking everyone by taking him with the third pick shouldn't be used as an appeal to authority with regard to his current dynasty value.
More Fantasy News
Takes loss against A's
PTexas Rangers
September 26, 2024
Rocker (0-2) took the loss Thursday against the Athletics, allowing three runs on seven hits and no walks across 4.2 innings. He struck out two.
ANALYSIS
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Control issues in second start
PTexas Rangers
September 19, 2024
Rocker (0-1) took the loss Thursday, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits and four walks across three innings against the Blue Jays. He struck out five.
ANALYSIS
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Expected to get start next week
PTexas Rangers
September 19, 2024
Rocker is expected to make another start for the Rangers during the final week of the season, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.
ANALYSIS
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Next start coming Thursday
PTexas Rangers
September 15, 2024
Rocker is scheduled to make his next start Thursday against the Blue Jays in Arlington.
ANALYSIS
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Fans seven in debut
PTexas Rangers
September 13, 2024
Rocker did not factor into the decision in a win over Seattle on Thursday, allowing one run on three hits and two walks over four innings while striking out seven.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Still a trade chip?
PTexas Rangers
July 20, 2023
Rocker was listed in a pool of players that the Rangers could package in a Shohei Ohtani blockbuster, via Jim Bowden of The Athletic.
ANALYSIS
Rocker underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery in May, but the 23-year-old still carries intriguing pedigree. Rocker was a first-round pick of the Mets in 2021, but elbow injuries derailed his signing, resulting in the Rangers' selecting him third overall in the 2022 First-Year Player Draft.
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