Kumar Rocker pitches well in Frontier League debut, what’s next?

Kumar Rocker pitches well in Frontier League debut, what’s next?

Former Vanderbilt right-hander Kumar Rocker, who went unsigned after getting drafted No. 10 overall by the New York Mets in the 2021 MLB Draft, took the mound for the first time since the 2021 College World Series on Saturday night.

Rocker, a starter who signed with the Tri-City ValleyCats of the independent Frontier League in May, struck out six while tossing four innings of two-run ball. He surrendered three hits without issuing a walk, throwing 60 pitches — 43 strikes — in the Valley Cats’ 10-2 win over the Trois-Rivieres Aigles.

According to Geoff Pontas of Baseball America, Rocker reached 99 MPH, typically sitting 94-97 MPH with his fastball while also featuring his slider, cutter and changeup.

Rocker, 22, went unsigned by the Mets because of a failed physical — though the specificities regarding the failure still remain unknown. He initially emerged on the national scene after tossing a 131-pitch, 19-strikeout no-hitter in the Super Regionals against Duke as a freshman in 2019, marking the first Vandy no-hitter since 1971. 

In three seasons with the Commodores, he went 28-10 with a 2.89 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in 42 games (39 starts), striking out 321 batters with 68 walks across 236.2 frames. He earned first-team All-SEC honors and was a unanimous first-team All-American as a junior.

Rocker’s eligible once again for the 2022 Draft, set to be on July 17. A year removed from being one of the top pitching prospects out of college (along with teammate Jack Leiter), he’s been dubbed this year’s 39th-best prospect and the 13th-ranked pitching prospect, per MLB.com.

He was not selected in either MLB.com’s or ESPN’s latest mock drafts (both on June 1). Here’s what ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel wrote regarding the right-hander’s draft position in the mock:

“Since I know people will ask, or just CTRL+F for their names, I didn’t accidentally leave Tennessee reliever Ben Joyce or former Vanderbilt righty Kumar Rocker off this projection. I think Rocker could land in the 40-60 range, or maybe over slot in the third round, but his independent league performance (which should begin soon) will have some bearing on that.”

Draft evaluators amongst all sports will feel differently about players up until their pick in the draft. So, like McDaniel mentioned, it’s not inconceivable that Rocker squeaks into the first-round with multiple promising outings in the Frontier League in front of scouts. Though his medicals will need to test well for that to even be a reality.

I guess we’ll see come July 17.

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