All Eyes Will Be on Texas Rangers Rising Star Pitcher This Spring

This is the player who Texas Rangers fans should be watching in Spring Training.

Sep 12, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Kumar Rocker (80) walks towards the dugout after the final out against the Seattle Mariners during the first inning at T-Mobile Park | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

On paper, the Texas Rangers have one of the best rotations in Major League Baseball.

But, as the team and fan base has seen, that has not become a reality based on the injuries this unit has accrued over the years.

At the forefront of that is Jacob deGrom, a Hall of Fame talent who has been derailed by continued stints on the injured list which has resulted in him only making nine starts and pitch 41 innings since he signed his massive five-year, $185 million contract ahead of the 2023 campaign.

Rightfully, much of the attention surrounding the Rangers this spring will be geared towards the star pitcher, with everyone inside and outside the organization monitoring his health with the hope he can make 20-plus starts for the first time in a full season since 2019.

However, he's not the only player in the rotation people should be paying attention to in Spring Training with David Adler of MLB.com saying Kumar Rocker is one of the 12 "must-watch" pitchers heading into camp.

It was an interesting path for the right-hander to reach the Majors after he was dominant in college. He was selected 10th overall by the New York Mets in 2021, but they didn't offer him a contract based on medical concerns. He went unsigned before he inked a deal with the Tri-City ValleyCats of the Frontier League, later re-entering the 2022 draft where he was taken third overall by Texas.

Now, it looks like the highly-touted pitcher has arrived.

Rocker made his MLB debut this past season, giving up five earned runs in 11.2 innings pitched with 14 strikeouts and six walks.

He showcased a dominant, mid-90 mph fastball and overwhelming slider in his limited sample size, and that's why Adler wants to see if Rocker can continue that during the spring as he makes his case for a rotation spot.

"Rocker's slider generated a 74% whiff rate in two starts at Triple-A, then a 50% whiff rate in his three starts in the Majors. As the 25-year-old enters his first full season, we'd love to see him overpower hitters like he did at Vandy," he wrote.

Right now, the Rangers seem to have four starters locked in; Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray, Tyler Mahle and deGrom.

There will be a battle for the fifth spot between Rocker, former star prospect Jack Leiter and Cody Bradford, who showed well with a 3.54 ERA and 112 ERA+ across his 14 appearances (13 starts) and 76.1 innings pitched.

If Rocker shows that dominating stuff like he did in his first three MLB starts, there's a good chance he'll earn a place in Texas' rotation coming out of camp.

But it will be a battle, and one that is "must-watch" for Rangers fans this spring.