Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
The Texas Rangers announced the signing Tuesday of No. 3 overall draft pick Kumar Rocker.
The 22-year-old right-hander passed his physical and will receive a $5.2 million signing bonus, USA Today reported.
“The Texas Rangers are excited to have Kumar Rocker joining our organization,” said general manager Chris Young in a news release. “Kumar is an elite competitor with the potential to make a major contribution for the Rangers, and we look forward to watching his development. We will be working with Kumar in the short term on the appropriate training and pitching program for the remainder of the 2022 season.”
The 6-foot-5, 245-pound Rocker was drafted 10th overall by the New York Mets in 2021 but did not sign before the Aug. 1 deadline.
Rocker was 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA in five starts for the Tri-City Valley Cats of the independent Frontier League earlier this summer. He struck out 32 and walked four in 20 innings.
He went 28-10 with a 2.89 ERA in 42 games (39 starts) at Vanderbilt from 2019-21. He was the Most Outstanding Player for the Commodores’ 2019 College World Series championship squad and earned unanimous All-America honors in 2021 after leading the nation in wins (14) and strikeouts (179).
–Field Level Media