How Kumar Rocker Induced Swing and Miss in Final Rangers Spring Training Start

In what was his final start at spring training in Surprise, Ariz., Texas Rangers right-hander Kumar Rocker made his case to make the opening day starting rotation.

And it was a solid one. He pitched four innings for the Rangers in their contest against the Kansas City Royals, as he threw 70 pitches and gave up just one earned run. He’s essentially built up to a starter’s workload as Texas prepares to break camp on Saturday and head back to Arlington for exhibition games on Monday and Tuesday at Globe Life Field.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

The 2022 first-round pick has been locked in a dead heat with left-hander Jacob Latz for the final spot. Non-roster invitee Cal Quantrill was absent from camp as part of Team Canada's efforts at the World Baseball Classic. But he pitched a great game in his one appearance in the WBC and Rangers manager Skip Schumaker has ruled him out.

So, how did Rocker do on Wednesday?

Kumar Rocker’s Final Spring Training Start

Rocker tonight: 6 strikeouts in 4 innings. pic.twitter.com/LkzntdOiKb
— Rangers Sports Network (@RangersSNtv) March 19, 2026

In his second start of four innings in spring training, he allowed three hits and two walks while he struck out six. Of the 70 pitches he threw, 40 were strikes. It was a less efficient outing than his previous four-inning start, when he threw only 47 pitches. But he gave up on more run and a home run in that start on March 10.

Rocker’s velocity was a high point. His fastball consistently hit 98 mph. But he was far more reliant on his slider and sinker, throwing them a combined 40 times in the contest. There was more than 10 mph in average velocity difference between the two pitches and they forced hitters to do different things.

Batters swing at the slider 12 times and whiffed nine times. They swung at the sinker five times. but only whiffed once. That sinker went for called strikes six times, and the slider was only called for a strike once.

The talk of camp for Rocker has been his change-up. Texas wants him to become more effective with that pitch. He only threw it four times with an average speed of 89.4 mph. That pitch induced a swing and was called for a strike. But he didn’t get a whiff out of it.

For the game he forced 28 swings, 11 called strikes and 10 whiffs. More than half of his pitches either forced the hitter to do something or were called for strikes.

The change-up matters because it gives him another pitch to induce chase. But his overall control is more important and that was a bit loose on Wednesday. Control was a significant issue last year. He induced an average chase rate (28.8%), an average whiff rate (24.9%), an average walk rate (8.0%) and a well-below strikeout rate (19.5%).

Texas wants those percentages higher. Wednesday was his last shot in Surprise to show that part of his game is ready.