ARLINGTON -- When the Rangers’ No. 9-ranked prospect Kumar Rocker broke camp with High-A Hickory this season, there were reservations about why that may be the best path for him. 

The 6-foot-5 right-hander had a good Spring Training, both in big league camp and with the Minor Leaguers later on. Even his Vanderbilt teammate Jack Leiter started his professional career with Double-A Frisco in 2022. 

But general manager Chris Young said the organization just wanted to do right by Rocker and put him in the perfect position to succeed. That meant joining the Crawdads to start his professional career. And it’s gone well so far.

The Rangers’ 2022 first-rounder didn't allow a run in his first two starts of the season, combining for eight innings, 12 strikeouts and just one walk. 

“The biggest thing that stands out is fastball command,” Young said Saturday. “He's really commanding the strike zone, he’s throwing all his pitches for strikes, working ahead and he's on the attack. It's been a really good start to the season for him. We hope he continues tonight.”

He did just that, but not without a few struggles.

In his third start of the season for Hickory on Saturday, Rocker allowed three hits and a walk in the first inning before ultimately buckling down and producing a good outing. He finished with eight strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings.

If he continues, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him join Leiter in Frisco sooner rather than later.

“Absolutely, you want every player to get off to a good start,” Young said. “With Kumar, it’s really not about where he starts, it's where he finishes. I think just with him in his first year of pro ball coming off sort of the previous year he had, it's important that we made sure we did it the right way. We’re very thrilled with his response in terms of the way he's pitching. If he throws strikes like that, with this stuff, he’ll be successful on every level.”

His season ERA now stands at 2.19 with 20 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings for Hickory.

Rocker’s story is well known at this point. The former Vanderbilt ace was selected by the Mets at 10th overall in the 2021 Draft, but didn't sign with the club after a review of his medical information raised concerns about the right-hander's shoulder and elbow.

He opted not to return to Vanderbilt for his senior season, instead signing with the Tri-City ValleyCats of the independent Frontier League before the 2022 MLB Draft, where he was taken third overall by Texas. After signing with the Rangers, he didn’t pitch in any Minor League games last summer, but did throw 14 innings in the Arizona Fall League, posting a 4.50 ERA with 18 strikeouts.

It’s early, but Rocker looks miles ahead of where he was at the time of the Draft last summer, or even just a month ago in Spring Training.

“It’s just progression,” Young said. “I mean, he's showing what we thought he was capable of being in terms of the pitcher. His breaking ball is as good as advertised. It's been fun to see the fastball, it has real life to it. He's throwing a little sinker, as well, which has been fun to see. It's the Kumar we thought we'd seen in the past that we thought was in there. It's been a great start for him and like I said, we just want to see him continue.”

Other notable MiLB performances (Week of April 18-23)

Triple- A Round Rock: LHP Cody Bradford
• 1 start, 7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
• 2023 season: 23 1/3 IP, 0.77 ERA, 8 BB, 21 K

Double-A Frisco: RHP Owen White
• 1 start, 5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
• 2023 season: 12 2/3 IP, 2.13 ERA, 6 BB, 8 K

Low-A Down East: RHP Brock Porter
• 1 start, 4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K
• 2023 season: 8 IP, 3.38 ERA, 8 BB, 12 K