This story was excerpted from Kennedi Landry's Rangers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Rangers manager Chris Woodward can’t quite help himself from imagining the Rangers’ rotation in 2024. You can almost picture it, former Vanderbilt aces, reunited in Arlington, Texas, on a squad finally back in contention for the first time in almost a decade. 

At least that’s the hope after Texas selected Kumar Rocker with the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s MLB Draft, and Jack Leiter with 2021’s No. 2 pick. 

“Just him and Jack Leiter, together? We got both those guys?” Woodward said, almost amazed at the turn of events. “It’s crazy to think about a year ago. You would be crazy to think that this was even possible, especially them in the same organization.”

By now, the Leiter and Rocker story is well known. 

Rocker led the Commodores to a national championship in 2019, and tossed a 19-strikeout no-hitter against Duke in the Super Regionals that season. Leiter joined him in Nashville a year later and threw a no-hitter of his own against South Carolina in ‘21 en route to another College World Series appearance, though Vanderbilt fell to Mississippi State in the finals.

Both were expected to be top-10 selections in last year’s Draft, and they were. But Rocker didn’t sign with the Mets, who selected him 10th overall, after a review of his medical information raised concerns about the right-hander's shoulder and elbow.

General manager Chris Young and director of amateur scouting Kip Fagg both emphasized on Draft night that they were comfortable enough with Rocker’s medicals to make the pick. Woodward followed their lead, while noting the top picks Jackson Holliday (Orioles) and Druw Jones (D-backs) were also in consideration.

“We couldn't really go wrong, in my opinion,” Woodward said. “But I was ecstatic. This guy could be the number one pick in the Draft if the medicals passed [last year]. ... Obviously for managers to get the guy that’s closest to the big leagues, you want him. He’s not far off. And Leiter, they’re reunited. To have the best two, I mean, I’m not saying it’s going to work out, but …”

Woodward shrugged, but the meaning was clear. If this all works out in the Rangers’ favor, it’ll go down as some of the best two-year Draft stretches in history.

And yes, a lot has to go right.

Leiter has struggled in his first professional season, posting a 6.30 ERA in 14 appearances (13 starts) at Double-A Frisco, but has consistently flashed his potential with a dominant fastball and plus curveball.

Rocker has only made three competitive starts since finishing at Vanderbilt in 2021, opting not to return to school and instead pitching for the Tri-City ValleyCats of the Frontier League leading up to the Draft. Young said they were comfortable with the amount of innings he pitched, even as the Rangers selected him higher than many in the industry expected.

“The scouting fatigue on Kumar was real,” Woodward followed up. “It's just he was such a top prospect for so long, that everybody poked holes in him. But like, this guy’s a stud. The more you look at a player, you start to find little chinks in the armor here and there. The fact that we took him, I was really excited when I got the call. We're getting a kid that's probably a little chip on his shoulder in the league and in general.”

It was a high-risk, high-reward selection for the Rangers, there’s no doubt. For now, the future of the pitching rotation in Arlington looks bright.