Kumar Rocker

The Texas Rangers signed first-round pick Kumar Rocker to a contract, thus putting any injury concerns to bed relatively quickly. The Mets look bad.

However, the Rangers were clearly impressed with how he handled himself. The fact that he can already locate them well is also vital, and makes him near-MLB ready. While New York didn’t reveal exactly what they found during Rocker’s physical, it was enough to opt out of signing arguably the most MLB-ready pitcher in that draft class.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes congratulates Kumar Rocker after the Rangers selected him with the third pick in the MLB Draft on Sunday.

Less than two years ago Kumar Rocker was seen as a lock to be the number one overall pick. I loved this team and I’m a huge Kumar Rocker fan. That move got the attention of many around the MLB world.

The Texas Rangers quickly scooped up Kumar Rocker with the No. 3 pick of the draft, reuniting him with his Vanderbilt teammate Jack Leiter.

Rocker was a big-time pitcher for Vanderbilt, which won the 2019 NCAA baseball championship. In Rocker’s final season at Vanderbilt, he was a unanimous All-American and finalist for the Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser Trophy. He led the nation with 14 wins and 179 strikeouts. He had shoulder surgery last September and was pitching in the independent Frontier League for the Tri-City ValleyCats. He had a 1.35 ERA in five starts for the team.

The former Vanderbilt ace was the 10th overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft and had a reported $6 million contract from the New York Mets on the table. Three ...

… I was just hoping to get the opportunity to play.” Rocker ended his Vanderbilt career with a 28-10 record, a 2.89 ERA, 321 strikeouts, and a 19-strikeout no-hitter. “I walked by faith and not by fear,” Rocker said. “It was Aug. 1 at 5:01 [p.m.] is when it changed,” Rocker said of when he decided to go all-in on the 2022 draft. Electing not to return to Vanderbilt, Rocker’s agent Scott Boras announced he would instead go the Independent League route and take the year to improve his draft stock. It was a beautiful process and I’m excited that I went through it.”

Slot value for the No. 3 pick is just under $7.6 million.

Last year the Rangers used the No. 2 pick on Vanderbilt righty Jack Leiter, the son of longtime big leaguer Al Leiter. Leiter and Rocker will now be reunited in the Texas farm system. Even if Rocker was the same -- and he's not, if only in age -- the river has changed. Rocker went back into the draft this summer and the Mets received the No. 11 pick in this year's draft as compensation. The Rangers and Rocker already have a deal in place, according to the New York Post, and he will receive a $5.2 million signing bonus. Heraclitus said that no man steps in the same river twice, for neither he nor the river are the same. Rocker was widely expected to go in the back half of the first round after having shoulder surgery last September and pitching in an independent league this spring.

Kumar Rocker reunites with college teammate Jack Leiter in the Texas system. The Rangers' front office seems confident in its choice.

The Rangers said they had done years of background on Rocker, and that may be true. He has been on a lot of teams' radars for a long time, and it seems as if every pitcher in the draft has a medical history. "He's somebody that brings a competitive intensity, not only between the lines, but in everything he does," Young added. Rocker, whose post-draft physicals last year caused the Mets to not offer him a bonus, was approached with trepidation in this year's draft. "A guy that lays it all out on the line every time he goes out there — with plus stuff. In the 2021 MLB Draft, Vanderbilt aces Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker were drafted second and 10th overall, respectively.

Rocker was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2022 MLB draft, but there have been questions about his health.

Two people confirmed to The News the deal is worth $5.2 million. Privacy is important to us so you have the option of disabling certain types of storage that may not be necessary to the basic functioning of the web site. That’s nearly a half million dollars more than last year’s Mets slot at 10.— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) @GJoyce9 https://t.co/zo57SHI4ra July 18, 2022 That would give the Rangers more than $4 million in total bonus money remaining for rounds four through 10. This storage is often necessary for basic functionality of the web site or the storage may be used for the purposes of marketing, analytics, and personalization of the web site such as storing your preferences. Update: This story has been updated with further confirmation from those close to the situation.

Rocker and the Rangers agreed Monday on a contract that includes a $5.2 million signing bonus, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports. Rocker's decision to ...

They do not have a pick in either the second or third rounds, forfeiting those selections to sign Corey Seager and Marcus Semien. Considering both players have ...

Rocker may not be in the minors for long either. In theory, the Rangers should be able to use those savings to add players that unexpected fell in the draft, possibly bringing them into the organization on an overslot deal. It turns out that they may have been setting up the rest of their draft.