Rangers Looking for Kumar Rocker To Mature in Minors

The baseball journey of top Texas Rangers prospect Kumar Rocker has been extraordinary and well documented. The fireballer finds himself making two starts this week, but they will be in Round Rock for the Express and not for the Rangers.

After a rough beginning to the 2025 MLB season, which included a stint on the IL due to a right shoulder impingement, Rocker is back in the minor leagues looking to work on his craft and ultimately get back to the bigs.

In the spring, it was looking like Rocker would start the 2025 campaign with Triple-A Round Rock. He struggled during spring training, and the Rangers already had a full rotation. But after both Jon Gray and Cody Bradford went down with injuries, Rocker was forced into the big league mix.

Stats updated prior to games on June 12.

Kumar Rocker’s 2025 Big League Results

The results for Rocker in the big leagues this season have not been good. Out of six starts for the Rangers, he only had two that were positive.

His second start of the season against the Tampa Bay Rays was favorable. In that outing, Rocker went five innings, gave up six hits and one earned run, walked none, and struck out one. Control was a bit of an issue as he threw 77 pitches with only 47 being strikes.

On April 17, against the Los Angeles Angels, Rocker had his best start of his young career. Picking up the win, he threw seven innings, allowed five hits and three earned runs, walked none, and struck out eight. His control was much better in this outing, as he threw 78 pitches with 58 of them being strikes.

In an incredibly small sample, Rocker’s two starts at home in Arlington were his two solid ones. His other four starts that came on the road were not good at all. Probably just the product of only a few outings, but this could be something to watch in the future.

Unfortunately for Rocker and the Rangers, he would go on the IL with the shoulder issue just a week after earning his first big league win. After some time off and two rehab starts (one in Double-A and one in Triple-A), Rocker was placed back into the rotation due to the absence of Nathan Eovaldi, who was placed on the IL.

This MLB stint for Rocker was short-lived, as it only lasted one forgettable start. The outing was highlighted by Rocker not being able to cover first in time to get the speedy Jake Mangum of the Rays.

Then, instead of turning and holding the runner that had advanced to third on the play, Rocker hung his head and walked with his back to the plate. That momentary lack of concentration led to another run for Tampa Bay. The Rays would ultimately win the game by, you guessed it, one run.

Learning lessons can be hard. It can be painful and embarrassing at the time, but the right lessons can make players stronger and better in the long run. Hopefully, Rocker will use that incident as a building block to push him to be a better player throughout his career.

First Triple-A Start on His Way Back

On Tuesday of this week, Rocker made his first non-rehab start of the year for the Triple-A Round Rock Express. Overall, it was a solid showing, as evident by his final line below:

I happened to be at the game on Tuesday and got a first-hand look at Rocker’s stuff. Overall, it was a good performance with a few things to work on, as well as a few things to be excited about.

On the needs improvement side of the equation, he was missing glove-side low with many of his sinkers. It is unclear if he was holding back a bit due to his shoulder issue, but he was sitting in the 95-96 mph range, which is a few mph off of what he normally shows. He topped out at 97.0 mph on the night.

Overall, the command just seemed off for most of the start. While he managed not to issue a walk, he was starting off behind to far too many hitters. Of the 15 batters that Rocker faced on Tuesday night, he fell behind 1-0 to 11 and only started out ahead to four. That will be something he can work on in his upcoming starts.

The highlight of the game for Rocker was the third inning. Not only did he go three up three down with two strikeouts, but he pounded the zone. Of his 15 pitches in that third inning, 12 found the zone, and he started out ahead of two of the three batters he faced.

His demeanor on the mound that inning just looked different. Instead of trying to get people out, he was out there dominating. That is not only the results, but the look and poise that the Rangers are looking for from Rocker in the future.

What Does the Future Look Like for Rocker?

Long-term, the ceiling for Rocker is still extremely high. He has the stuff to be a middle-to-top-of-the-rotation arm for the Rangers. That is the role that he was drafted to play as the third overall selection in 2022.

Yet, what if those plans don’t play out? The obvious pivot is to mold the big man into a back-of-the-bullpen shutdown arm. With his velocity and nasty slider, he could make a fantastic closer. That isn’t where the Rangers want Rocker to end up, but that would be a decent consolation prize if he can’t make it as a starter.

But before we push Rocker out to the ‘pen, let’s let the kid get some minor league innings under his belt. That is what he needs. Because of his time out with injuries and his accelerated rise to the big leagues last summer, Rocker has only pitched 75.2 innings in the minors and 35.0 innings in the big leagues.

Not to make it too simple, but he needs to have consistent pitching routines at a pro level and start stacking solid start after solid start on top of one another. Working on his command will be paramount, along with further developing his secondary pitches.

How Rocker’s 2025 season plays out will have as much to do with how the Rangers play over the next few months as how he pitches in Round Rock. If he throws well over the next few months and the team finds itself in contention, there is a chance he will be a part of the big league pitching staff down the stretch. Perhaps as a starter or even in the bullpen, depending on starter health.

On the flip side, if the Rangers falter and are actually sellers at the trade deadline, Rocker could find himself back in Arlington over the last few months, logging some big league innings getting ready for next season. There are several ways that this year can go for Rocker.

But at the end of the day, he needs to go out and pitch well, no matter which uniform he has on. The number of quality innings that he can get under his belt will have a direct effect on how his role will ultimately play out with the Rangers.

Many people had given up on Jack Leiter last year, and look what he has done so far this season. Rocker is his own man, but he deserves as many chances to succeed as the Rangers can afford to give him.