potential customers rocker kumar going to operate Tommy John, report Evan Grant of Dallas Morning News.
The 23-year-old Rocker is rated higher than the typical high-A-scoring leads in the drama scene that has beset him in recent years. He was one of the most highly rated young players when he entered the 2021 draft and was selected in 10th place overall by the Mets. Immediately after the draft, it was report that he and the club would agree to a $6 million signing bonus, above the $4.7399 million spot value for the pick. However, the two sides were ultimately unable to come to an agreement when the club report became alarmed by something in Rocker’s right elbow.
When his plans to jump into the link ball were scuttled, the Rocker managed to sign the Tri-City ValleyCats of the Independent Frontier League, eventually throwing 20 turns to them last summer. Rangers then picked him with the third overall pick in last year’s draft, quickly agreeing to terms of a $5.2 million bonus that was less than the $7,587,600 position value la of the pick.
After all of that, Rocker was finally able to join the ranks of the affiliates this year. He made six starts for High-A Hickory Crawdads, posting a 3.86 ERA in 28 plays. He beat 37.8% of hitters facing a 6.3% walk, giving the grounder a 51.6% hit. Earlier today, MLB Pipeline tweeted that they had just added Rocker to the league’s top 100 prospects, just about 25 minutes before it was reported he would have to go under the knife.
The Rocker will now be out of action for the rest of 2023 and at least part of 2024, with a typical period of 14 to 18 months needed to recover from Tommy John surgery. It was an unfortunate setback for a pitcher who faced several twists and turns on his way to the majors. He is still not on the club’s 40-man roster and won’t even qualify under Rule 5 until after the 2025 season.
