The former Vanderbilt college stud Kumar Rocker made his Major League debut against the Seattle Mariners Thursday.
SP Kumar Rocker made his anticipated Major League debut against the Seattle Mariners Thursday night. So far this season, he dominated at both Double-A and Triple-A since returning from Tommy John surgery. The 6’5″ right hander posted a 0.91 ERA and 0.57 WHIP in 29.2 total innings, along with 47 strikeouts and only four walks. The intriguing part about Rocker’s minor league season is that he hasn’t gone more than five innings in any start. It’ll be interesting to see how he performs against a Mariners team with the sixth-worst OPS in the majors and most strikeouts in Baseball.
1st inning
OF Victor Robles greeted Rocker with a single on the first pitch he threw in his big league career. OF Julio Rodriguez came up second and sliced a slider to the opposite field for another single, advancing Robles to third. C Cal Raleigh batted third, and after Rocker fell behind 2-0 to the M’s catcher, he battled back and froze him with a 97 MPH fastball for strike three, collecting his first career strikeout. The cleanup hitter, OF Randy Arozarena, fell behind 0-2 but puts together a great at-bat, fighting off tough pitches. But Rocker prevailed, striking him out on a 2-2 curveball, collecting K #2. Now with two outs in the inning, 1B Luke Raley lined out on the first pitch he saw, and Kumar escaped his first Major League inning without allowing a run.
Kumar Rocker’s stuff definitely passes the eye test, displaying multiple 97 MPH fastballs and sinkers while mixing in a sharp slider and devastating secondary breaking ball. The two singles given up were both on weak contact. Robles hit the ball 78.7 mph. and Julio was only 70 MPH. The toughest at-bats came from Raleigh and Arozarena. Rocker had to battle through them but ultimately won both. The way Kumar was able to stay composed despite the two bad luck singles speaks volumes to what kind of pitcher he is. Most rookies begin to get intimidated and pitch around hitters, but Rocker went right after the lineup when he gave up the two singles.
2nd Inning
DH Justin Turner stepped up and Rocker got a two-pitch groundout, displaying two 97 MPH sinkers. 2B Jorge Polanco looked silly on multiple breaking balls during his at-bat to get Rocker to two strikes, following it up with a third slider which Polanco chased for strikeout #3. SS J.P. Crawford didn’t look comfortable at all to start his AB, getting a 97 MPH fastball blown by him, chasing a curveball, then eventually going down on strikes on another breaking ball, giving Rocker his 4th punchout.
The nerves are definitely gone for the 24-year-old, locating his pitches much better in his second inning of work. Turner smoked his groundball to third at 97 MPH, but with how his sinker has been running into right-handed hitters, it’s hard to do anything but pull it to the third baseman. His next two batters were the best we’ve seen out of him, making Polanco chase all three sliders he threw while putting it at his back foot, exactly where he wanted to land the pitch. Crawford’s plate appearance brought more of the same, mixing in both his fastball and slider. After getting up 0-2 fast, he threw two waste pitches, probably trying to be too perfect. Ultimately, he was able to land a backup slider in the outer part of the strike zone, which J.P. swung through.
3rd Inning
3B Josh Rojas led off the home half of the 3rd inning and quickly went down 0-2, but Rocker kept missing his spots to make the count 3-2. Kumar barely missed upstairs to the leadoff man to issue his first walk of the game, this one on a fastball at 98, his hardest of the game. Robles stepped up for his second trip, laying down a bunt on the first pitch he saw. He advanced the runner to second but gave Rocker an out.
Rodriguez flew out on the first pitch he saw on a slider away, bringing Raleigh up with two outs. After Raleigh chased a first pitch breaking ball, Kumar lost him on the next four pitches, putting him on first. With two on and two outs, Rocker quickly started 0-2 against Arozarena with two breaking balls, finally blowing a fastball by Arozarena for his 5th strikeout of the night and escaping another jam.
Rocker’s second time through the order definitely saw him have to battle through at-bats more. Raleigh and Arozerana were laying off well placed breaking balls, no doubt because they recognized them from their first trip. Even so, Kumar’s getting great whiffs on all of his pitches. Finishing the inning with just over 50 pitches will give the rookie another inning to showcase himself.
4th inning
Luke Raley stepped up for his second trip. Earlier he had the hardest hit ball up to that point in his first plate appearance, lacing a ball to right-field at 98 off the bat. This time, Kumar displayed his first changeup at 90 MPH, getting him to two strikes. Then Raley chased a breaking ball, becoming the 6th K.
Justin Turner had the second hardest hit ball so far in his last at-bat. Kumar was squeezed on his fastballs this at-bat, forcing him to a 3-2. Unfortunately, Turner got a fastball over the plate that he shot over the wall in center field, tying the game, and making that Kumar’s first run given up in the Bigs. Rocker was able to bounce back well, getting Polanco to weakly fly out to left field and Crawford to strike out on a vicious slider, giving Rocker his 7th K in what was his last batter of the day.
This was a very tough inning for the rookie in his debut. He was getting squeezed by the umpire in his at-bat to Turner, ultimately forcing him to throw a heater in the middle of the plate. It still felt like he was in control of every at-bat, getting the chases on his breaking ball to Polanco and Crawford. With his pitch count being close to 75, Kumar Rocker’s night was finished. His line is 4 IP, 1 ER, 7 K, 3 H, 2 BB, and a 62% whiff rate on his slider.
Summary
Kumar Rocker’s Major League debut went extremely well overall. His pitches were all great, displaying amazing movement with steady velocity. Despite a rough start to the game, he wasn’t fazed even once, attacking the zone and bouncing back every time. When he would lose the strike zone, Rocker would rely on his slider to get a swing and miss, putting him back in counts every time. Looking to the future, Kumar should get another couple of starts before the end of the season. It’s difficult to know if Rocker will get a chance next season in the rotation due to all the veteran pitchers still under contract with the club. Regardless, it is extremely encouraging for the Texas Rangers to see how great Kumar Rocker looked in his debut, and it will be exciting to watch how his next start will go.
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