Video of Kumar Rocker from me and from the Rangers.
Box Scores
AAA: Round Rock 4, Oklahoma City (LAD) 3 (10)
Round Rock: 7 hits, 2 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 4 walks, 18 strikeouts
Record: 26-26, 5 GB, 63-63 overall
SP Kumar Rocker: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 SO, 67 P / 44 S, 0.00 ERA
RP Daniel Robert: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 2.16 ERA
1B Blaine Crim: 4-4, 2 HR, (16), .279/.374/.461
RF Kellen Strahm: 2-4, 2B, SB (7), .266/.372/.342
Two weeks ago, I declared Jack Leiter’s outing the most dominant minor league pitching performance I’d ever seen in person*. That’s still true, but if I hadn’t visited the park that night, the top place would belong to Kumar Rocker. Rocker wasn’t quite as absurdly unhittable, with a swinging strike rate of “only” 22% of all pitches and 43% of swings compared to Leiter’s respective figures of 34% and 62%. That said, even while watching Leiter mow through hitters like never before, his history of inconsistency had me wondering “how long will this last?” Conversely, watching Rocker, I felt like he could last forever. He was never not in control. Okay, he did start two batters 3-0 in the 3rd, but he always had a strike when needed.
Rocker’s induced vertical break on his four-seamer honestly wasn’t anything special, averaging 12.5″. (Leiter’s AAA average is 16.8″ and includes some starts at altitude which dampens IVB.) Rocker instead imparted much more horizontal movement than typical, and he added a sinker with an average run that exceeds every Express pitcher in 2024 except Jonathan Hernandez. All that to say, he was throwing two fastballs in the upper 90s with huge movement and controlling them. Last night, opponents missed a relatively low three out of out 19 swings, but fouls were three times more common than balls in play.
Rocker’s breaker averaged 85.3 MPH. The average PCL slider is 83.7, and Rocker’s vertical break sat halfway between the average PCL slider and curve, so Statcast understandably called it a slider, but it’s a curve. Not only did it not sweep much (never more than 4″), but it occasionally snuck back to the arm side. OKC swung at 14: one in play, two fouls, 11 misses.
He added five changeups, generating one more miss. He hasn’t thrown it much, maybe in part because he hasn’t needed to, but it’s a potentially worthy pitch with the kind of run you’d expect given what he can do with his fastballs, and the spin is down into splitter range.
In six starts in AA/AAA, opponents are hitting .119/.149/.167 with a 3% walk rate and 45% strikeout rate. I’ve been doing this for 17 years, and nobody I’ve ever covered has pitched like this over a comparable span at the upper levels.
There’s more to discuss but I’m low on time and will leave that to tomorrow.
* Just to be clear, I mean most dominant by a prospect at a reasonable level, so I’m ignoring Jacob deGrom from Tuesday, Yu Darvish rehabbing in Round Rock, AA-AAA relievers throwing live BP against teenagers in Surprise, etc.
AA: Frisco 6, @ NW Arkansas (KAN) 5
Frisco: 10 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 4 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 30-23, 1 GB, 74-48 overall
SP Winston Santos: 5 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 6 SO, 89 P / 53 S, 5.75 ERA
RP Dane Acker: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 3.30 ERA
RP Jackson Kelley: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 3.65 ERA
CF Alejandro Osuna: 2-4, BB, .305/.389/.497
DH Abi Ortiz: 1-3, HR (13), 2 BB, .232/.316/.398
Winston Santos is slowly finding his way in AA. His rates on walk (7%) and strikeout (26%) are swell, and he’s dominated a couple of times, but in others he’s fought something, usually homers or hit batters. Last night included more walks than usual plus two balks and a wild pitch.
I would assume Dane Acker’s downshift to relief is workload-related. Covid and injuries have greatly limited his output. Last year’s 67 innings are his maximum since 2018.
Hi-A: Hickory 11, @ Asheville (HOU) 9
Hickory: 9 hits, 9 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 5 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 30-26, 6.5 GB, 58-64 overall, elimination number 4
SP Paul Bonzagni: 4 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 7 SO, 79 P / 53 S, 3.98 ERA
CF Dylan Dreiling: 0-3, 3 BB, SB (5), .182/.348/.236
SS Cam Cauley: 2-6, HR (11), .228/.290/.402
C Malcolm Moore: 1-4, HR (2), BB, SB (2), .143/.238/.286
DH Gleider Figuereo: 3-4, 2B, BB, .213/.267/.396
Hickory scored four before the Tourists batted and led 11-4 at the halfway point but had to face down the tying run at the plate in the 9th. Sebastian Walcott (1-6) hit a bases-loaded triple.
Hickory can finish at .500 with eight wins in the final ten. Because of 46-68 record in 2021 despite a run differential of only -14, the Crawdads are assured of a losing record during their four years in high-A.
Lo-A: Down East 0, @ Myrtle Beach (CHC) 3
Down East: 3 hits, 1 walk, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 0 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 26-26, 7 GB, 61-56 overall, elimination number 5
SP Josh Trentadue: 5 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 3 R, 0 BB, 8 SO, 63 P / 43 S, 4.54 ERA
RP Jose Gonzalez: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 2.26 ERA
RF Yeremi Cabrera: 2-3, 2 SB (6), .180/.286/.230
A two-run homer in the 1st would provide all the offense Myrtle Beach needed. A pity, as Josh Trentadue and Jose Gonzalez combined for 12 strikeouts and no walks. Yeremi Caberera and Jose De Jesus managed to reach and steal three bases between them in the 8th, but they were stranded in scoring position.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Garcia
AA: Bratt
Hi-A: Rosario
Lo-A: TBA (Larsen)
Five Years Ago Yesterday
Cole Winn’s last full start of 2019 would be his best: 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 SO. Unfortunately, the negatives of what would be recycled for 2022-23: “One issue for Winn has been a relatively high number of pitches far off the plate or bouncing two feet in front of it. I don’t mean swing-inducing “waste” pitches. These are simply non-functional. Last night, they were almost totally absent. Instead of a perpetually searching for rhythm, Winn threw with ease and purpose. Highly encouraging.”