The Texas Rangers’ pitching prospect, Kumar Rocker, has been diagnosed with a torn ligament in his right elbow, and he will require Tommy John surgery. The 23-year-old was a top-10 pick in each of the past two MLB drafts. Chris Young, the Rangers’ general manager, revealed that the injury was sustained during Rocker’s last start for Single-A Hickory. Young noted that the injury was an acute injury, and it was different from what was discovered in the post-draft exams and MRI.
Rocker, who was 2-2 with a 3.86 ERA in six starts for Hickory, was close to promotion before he got injured, Young said. He had 42 strikeouts in 28 innings. Rocker got a $5.2 million signing bonus from the Rangers in 2021, well below the slot value of nearly $7.6 million for the third overall pick.
Rocker was the only first-round pick in the 2021 amateur baseball draft who went unsigned. The pitcher and the Mets failed to reach an agreement by the deadline that August because New York had concerns over the health of his right arm. After the Rangers formally introduced Rocker last August, Boras again didn’t get into specifics of that procedure, but said, “I think the point of it is, Kumar didn’t have a pitching-necessary scope. No physician told us he needed something. It was really just an evaluation of what was there.”
Rocker, a former standout at Vanderbilt, was 28-10 with a 2.89 ERA over 42 games from 2019-21, where he was teammates with right-hander Jack Leiter. Leiter was drafted by the Rangers with the second overall pick in 2021 and is currently pitching at Double-A Frisco.
Rocker’s injury adds to the Rangers’ growing list of players on the injured list. The team is currently without key players, including outfielder Joey Gallo, first baseman Nate Lowe, and pitchers Kohei Arihara, Dane Dunning, and Taylor Hearn.
Young said that the organization is disappointed for Rocker but believes that he will come back stronger. Rocker’s surgery is expected to take place later this week.
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