Rangers call-up Kumar Rocker struck out 7 in electrifying MLB debut

Kumar Rocker's path from being college baseball's most electrifying freshman to his MLB debut has been more eventful than anyone's, but the end result looked pretty impressive Thursday.

The No. 3 pick in the 2022 MLB draft (and No. 10 pick in the 2021 draft) struck out seven for the Texas Rangers while allowing three hits, two walks and one earned run over four innings of work in a 5-4 win over the Seattle Mariners on Thursday. Temperatures in the upper-90s and some obliterated breaking pitches were on display.

He also made history as the first MLB player of Indian origin.

The rocker's most impressive pitch was easily his slider, which MLB Pipeline rates as a 70 on the 20-80 scouting scale. Per Baseball Savant , the rocker threw 33 sliders among his 74 pitches and produced 13 whiffs in 21 swings.

That's tied for the eighth-most swing-and-misses on a slider in a game this season, which again, Rocker did in just four innings. No player has produced 10 slider whiffs in fewer than 78 pitches all season.

It's a strong debut for a player with a storied backstory.

Kumar Rocker's road to MLB was bumpy

Rocker looked like a potential No. 1 overall pick in 2019, when he led Vanderbilt's College World Series title. That followed a 19-strikeout no-hitter against Duke in the Super Regional round.

Things have been exciting for the rocker, but concerns about a drop in velocity in his junior year, concerns about long-term durability and questions about the depth of his arsenal led to him falling to the Mets 10th overall in the 2021 MLB Draft. Then the Mets withdrew an above-slot $6 million offer after reviewing his medical, which was not available pre-draft.

Instead of returning to Vanderbilt, Rocker coached himself, then signed with the independent Tri-City ValleyCats ahead of the 2022 MLB Draft. He was surprisingly selected third overall by the Rangers and received a $5.2 million signing bonus.

The Mets were seemingly vindicated in May 2023 when it was announced the rocker would require Tommy John surgery. New York Georgia Tech's Kevin Parada, a bat-first catcher currently hitting .209 at Double-A, used their compensation pick to fail to sign Rocker. .

Rocker Tommy John made a quick comeback by standards, returning to the mound in July and rocketing up the Rangers' org chart until the team announced he was big-league bound. Many people have been waiting years to see Rocker pitch in the MLB, and his first game was a good sign the wait (and turmoil) will be worth it.