Coach on Vandy's 2 'different' star pitchers

May 5th, 2021

With the 2021 MLB Draft a little over two months away, Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin joined Jonathan Mayo on the MLB Pipeline Podcast to discuss his two star pitchers, Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker.

Corbin explained how Leiter and Rocker came to Vanderbilt as different types of players but developed into two of the top prospects entering this year's Draft.

"Kumar was the kid that had good size, strong arm, power stuff … he became a pitcher. Jack was probably more of the pitcher type when he came in, and has developed power as he's come along," Corbin said.

Leiter is ranked the No. 1 overall Draft prospect for 2021 by MLB Pipeline. Rocker is ranked the No. 3 overall Draft prospect.

"With Kumar, when we got him, I think competitive maturity is what I saw really grow inside of him … I just enjoyed watching him compete and really grow as a competitor," Corbin said. "Jack, on the other hand, is a very competitive kid [but] more internal. I would say that there's a 'pitch' component to him -- he came in as a pitcher. I know he's got a good arm, and I know he's got really good stuff, but he was a pitcher first."

Both Leiter and Rocker had first-round potential coming out of high school, but they've become so dominant at Vanderbilt that they could both be selected within the top few picks of the 2021 Draft.

"They kind of [developed in different directions], but they've now met a little bit in certain ways," Corbin said. "Their bodies are different, their approaches are a little bit different, but how they go about it is actually not as far away as some may think."