Kumar Rocker Dominates In Triple-A Debut

Kumar Rocker’s first Triple-A start turned into one of the more dominating outings seen in Triple-A all year. Rocker struck out 10 of the 16 batters he faced. The only baserunner Rocker allowed came when Alex Freeland hit Rocker with a comebacker that then bounced all the way to second baseman Justin Foscue. Rocker was OK, remained in the game and retired the final nine batters he faced. While his numbers were impressive, the way he did it is what really stood out. Rocker sat at 97-98 mph with his fastball, touching 100 (99.9). His 83-87 mph slider was as good as it looked in his best outings at Vanderbilt. It had sharp downward movement. He threw 26 sliders, of which 19 were strikes. Oklahoma City batters swung at 14 of them. They swung and missed 11 times for an absurd 79% whiff rate. The three sliders they did hit were two foul balls and a ground out. Rocker struggled in his first rehab starts at the Arizona Complex League, but he’s now posted a 0.41 ERA with .121 opponents average in six starts in Double-A and Triple-A. He’s allowed nine hits and three walks while striking out 35 in 21.2 innings since he reached Double-A. He’s struck out 46% of the batters he’s faced in Double-A and Triple-A.