What’s Up With Black Pitching Superstar Kumar Rocker?

What’s Up With Black Pitching Superstar Kumar Rocker?

by | Jun 14, 2022 | 6TH SLOT

When the New York Mets drafted Kumar Rocker, with the 10th overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, many envisioned the power pitching Rucker as the next ace of the Mets staff.

But that didn’t come to fruition as team brass decided not to sign to the former Vanderbilt Commodores star after he failed a physical.

To this date, the injury or severity of the injury in question is unknown. But what we do know is Rocker opted not to return to Nashville, but instead work on getting his mind and body right for the 2022 MLB Draft.

 

At the time of the Mets decision, Rucker’s agent and baseball’s super agent Scott Boras had this to say.

 “Kumar Rocker is healthy according to independent medical review by multiple prominent baseball orthopedic surgeons. Kumar requires no medical attention and will continue to pitch in the regular course as he prepares to begin his professional career.”

 Currently the 39th ranked prospect in the upcoming draft, Rocker who hadn’t pitched competitively in over a year recently joined Tri-City ValleyCats, a member of the independent Frontier League.

He’s using this as an opportunity to prepare for the draft which he is eligible to participate in.

 Following his return to the mound, Rocker talked about the work he’s put in to be in position to be drafted again.

 “It was a long year, a lot of work put in. I’m glad to see good results. I had a process. When I got the start date, it was attack, attack, attack — go out there and do my thing.”

 That he did, tossing four innings, throwing 60 pitches, including 43 for strikes. While he did allow a two-run homer, he also struck out six batters and routinely hit high-90s with his fastball, topping out at 99 MPH. It was a welcomed sight for Rocker and all the teams who’ll have the opportunity to grab the former Vandy star. He looked healthy and in-control on the mound.

 

 

 

His former college coach Tim Corbin, talked about his star pupil after his performance.

 “He should’ve been back on the mound a long time ago. All he did for our school was compete. And I’m just glad he’s getting to play and get out there and refresh himself a little bit. He looks great.”

 Rocker Has An Array Of Pitches:

 The 6-foot-5 245 pounder has some nasty stuff in his arsenal, including that aforementioned fastball, plus an effective changeup, curveball and even a devastating slider at times. Team manager Pete Incaviglia, who played 12 MLB seasons and faced a ton of great pitchers, had this to say about Rocker’s performance.

 “He had good command. I think he made one mistake. Everything else was really good. I was thoroughly impressed. For him to go out there and pitch the way he did with the command he had for not pitching for a year, you’ve got to tip your hat.” 

 

 

Rocker Was Dominant In College

Rocker is the son of former NFL player Tracy Rocker so the athletic lineage is there. During his three years at Vandy he became one of the best and most complete pitchers in college.

He tallied a 28-10 record, with a 3.35 ERA and 321 strikeouts over 236 innings. The strong-armed Rocker even tossed a 19 K, no-hitter during the 2019 Super Regionals with the Commodores facing elimination. For his efforts, Rockers was voted a consensus All-American, All-SEC and Most Outstanding Player in the College World Series.

Since the Mets didn’t want this generational talent, some MLB team is gonna get real lucky July 17-19 at this year’s MLB Draft.

Mets & Kumar Rocker | There’s No Such Thing As A Perfect Match

Mets & Kumar Rocker | There’s No Such Thing As A Perfect Match

by | Aug 2, 2021 | THE LEAD OFF

Kumar Rocker won’t be rocking out in Queens after all.

The Mets and Rocker, the 10th overall pick out of Vanderbilt in the recent MLB Draft, couldn’t reach an agreement before Sunday’s signing deadline passed.

Reportedly, a deal fell apart after a physical showed issues with his pitching elbow.

 

 

 

That means Rocker won’t be a Met. Meanwhile, the Mets will get a compensation pick instead. It will be the 11th pick in 2022.

Mets fans should be heartbroken. Many thought Kumar could be the next Dwight Gooden.

Entering the 2021 season, Rocker was labeled as the consensus No. 1 pick in this year’s draft. 

He most notably put his name on the map after his performance during Vandy’s 2019 College World Series run.  Rocker threw a 19-strikeout, no-hitter against Duke, which was the first ever thrown no-no in a Super Regional.

 

 

Vanderbilt would go on to win the College World Series and would have been heavy favorites to repeat in 2020 on the shoulders of Rocker’s 1.80 ERA in three starts before the season was ended due to the Covid pandemic.

Rocker was a workhorse for the Commodores in the 2021 season.

He had a 14-4 record through 20 starts.  He pitched 122 innings and struck out 179 batters on his way to posting a 2.73 ERA.

 

 

 

He, along with second overall pick Jack Leiter – who signed with the Texas Rangers – helped lead Vandy to another appearance in the College World Series this year.

And after the final series was tied at a win a piece, Rocker was selected to take the bump in the winner-take-all Game 3.

However, he did not have command and struggled early as he only lasted 4 ⅓ innings allowing five runs on six strikeouts and taking the loss to champion Mississippi State.

That was the final start of Rocker’s college career, or so we thought.  He entered the 2021 draft and surprisingly to most expert draft boards, fell all the way to 10 to the New York Mets.

It seemed like a match made in heaven.

Rocker, who has been under a microscope of pressure since high school, is made for the bright lights of New York and their media.

He also would have a chance to join Black Knights Taijuan Walker and Marcus Stroman as African-American starters in the Mets rotation.

 

 

Brown On The Mound: Taijuan Walker & Marcus Stroman Black Ball Phillies 

 

Rocker and the Mets had an agreement on a $6 million deal but after a physical “supposedly” showed issues with his elbow, things fell apart.

However, this is where the situation gets a little dicey:

 

 

Rocker is represented by super agent Scott Boras who along with Rocker’s camp, insist that he is healthy,  according to sources.

It was also reported that orthopedists outside of the Mets’ organization disagree with the assessment that Mets’ doctors gave on the health of Rocker.

Before the draft, Rocker was selected to be a part of the MLB pre-draft MRI program which allows all 30 teams to have a player’s medical information, but since he did not participate (which is common for players going high in the draft) the Mets will be awarded the 11th overall pick in the 2022 Draft as compensation in exchange for not offering Rocker a contract.

 

Rocker’s agent Scott Boras said in a statement, “Kumar Rocker is healthy according to independent medical review by multiple prominent baseball orthopedic surgeons. Immediately upon conclusion of his collegiate seasons, he had an MRI on both his shoulder and his elbow.  When compared with his 2018 MRIs, the medical experts found no significant change. Kumar requires no medical attention and will continue to pitch in the regular course as he prepares to begin his professional career.”

That adds a whole other dimension to baseball’s rule that doesn’t allow a player to sign with any other team if they can’t come to terms on a deal.

 

 

Once again, we are left to question the decisions made by the Mets’ front office.  In addition to losing Rocker, they also sent away their 2020 first-round pick Pete Crow-Armstrong, who they drafted out of high school to the Chicago Cubs earlier this week.

Since 2016 the Mets have drafted seven players in the first round, including Seattle Mariners MLBbro pitcher Justin Dunn and top prospect outfielder Jared Kelenic.

However, only two of those picks are currently still in the organization.