American baseball pitcher Kumar Rocker was born on November 22, 1999. He plays for the Texas Rangers. He was a baseball player for the Vanderbilt Commodores in college. The New York Mets selected him with the 10th overall pick in the 2021 Major League Baseball draft, however, they did not sign him. The Texas Rangers chose him with the third overall pick the following year.
Rocker went to Bogart’s North Oconee High School. In 2017, he had a 1.63 earned run average (ERA) with 68 strikeouts in 55+23 innings as a junior. He participated in the Under Armour All-America Baseball Game and the Perfect Game All-American Classic that year. Later that summer, he was a member of the USA Baseball 18U National Team.
Rocker has committed to playing college baseball at Vanderbilt University. He was regarded as one of the top prospects in the 2018 Major League Baseball draft, but the Colorado Rockies did not select him until the 38th round, owing to signability concerns. He declined to sign with the Rockies and instead enrolled at Vanderbilt.
On June 8, 2019, Rocker became the first pitcher in NCAA Division I baseball history to throw a no-hitter in the Super Regional round. He struck out 19 batters as Vanderbilt defeated Duke 3-0. Rocker was named the 2019 College World Series Most Outstanding Player on June 26, 2019, after Vanderbilt won the 2019 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. Rocker won both of his College World Series starts and finished his freshman season with a 12-5 record. He was also named Baseball America’s Freshman of the Year in 2019.
What is Kumar Rocker doing now?
Rocker eventually fell to the Mets with the No. 10 pick in 2021, but the Mets declined to offer him a contract due to concerns about the health of his shoulder, making him eligible to be drafted again this year.