Sunday, March 16

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- In 2006, Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young entered his first Spring Training with Bruce Bochy’s San Diego Padres. That spring, he allowed 22 runs in 20 innings while walking 14 batters.

Long story short, it wasn’t pretty. 

So far in 2025, Kumar Rocker -- the Rangers’ No. 2 prospect -- has allowed eight runs in two innings of Cactus League play. Obviously, it’s just Spring Training and it’s only been two outings, but it’s clearly not how the 25-year-old wanted to start camp, especially after coming off an electric MLB debut in 2024. 

“Yeah, it reminded me of my first spring pitching for Boch in ‘06,” Young recalled. “I had the worst Spring Training you've ever seen. I couldn't get anybody out. It was horrendous. I kept thinking, ‘What day are they going to send me down?’ Boch and I have had some laughs remembering that.”

In 2024, Rocker returned from Tommy John surgery to post a 1.74 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 41 1/3 innings between Double-A (five starts), Triple-A (two) and the Majors (three) following his return to the mound.

His mechanics this spring have just not been at the same level that they were at towards the end of the 2024 season. But both Rocker and Young said it’s a good thing that it’s such a small fix. 

“Medically, he's great,” Young said. “The stuff is there, he just hasn't refined his command yet. The feel for the breaking ball hadn't been there yet. There are a couple little mechanical things that we'll adjust. It's just the timing and sequencing. His lower half and upper half haven't quite lined up. We're talking milliseconds here. It's not too far off. It's not something that we think is a big fix.

“These guys are not robots. It's a work in progress. He's still a young guy, and he had a great offseason. He worked tremendously hard, the velo is there, but we got to get the breaking ball going.”

And Rocker’s taking steps in the right direction to make that happen.

Earlier this week, Rocker went down to the Rangers pitching lab -- which Young says they do with all the pitchers, regardless of performances -- in order to get a baseline for where they’re at. Early returns looked good. 

In an intrasquad game on the backfields in Surprise on Saturday, Rocker tossed three hitless innings, though he walked Jonah Heim and hit Josh Smith with a pitch.

“That was better,” Rocker said. “A lot better. That’s what we needed. I was able to take a step back and work on the process and try to find the results. I’ve got good coaches behind me with a lot of support, and found it and then used it in the game to try to build some confidence. I’m just looking to do it again. You gotta keep going. You gotta try to find it. It's a hard game.”

Rocker added that just getting the upper half and lower half of his body synced up is easy enough. He didn’t have to spend weeks searching for a fix. 

Now the results just need to follow.   

“We know the competitor [Rocker is],” Young said. “We know how the stuff plays when he's got it dialed in. He's going to be a big part of our team this season, whether it's at the beginning or at some point later, so we're getting him straightened out.”

"I see him, it's just hard to believe that he's just 18 years old. I was a high school senior [at that age]. I think he’s hit the hardest ball in camp, if I'm not mistaken. The growth he's made in a year, the strides he's taken, it's so impressive to see. It's not normal. You don't see 18-year-olds have that ability to perform at this level like he has, and make the progress that he's made, with his aptitude and his willingness to learn. It's just so impressive. The sky's the limit for him. [He's] just great a player who continues to get better, because he's got the physical skill set and also the mental approach as well, which is going to help him realize his full potential.” -- Young on top prospect Sebastian Walcott making an impression in big league camp

Rangers ace Jacob deGrom made his 2025 Cactus League debut in Saturday’s 5-3 win against the Royals at Surprise Stadium after Friday’s game was rained out. The right-hander delivered two perfect innings, striking out a pair of big leaguers in Kyle Isbel and Bobby Witt Jr., as well as outfielder Tyler Gentry.

deGrom threw 31 pitches, 21 for strikes. He threw 16 four-seamers, averaging 97 mph and topping out at 98 mph. 

“I felt good,” deGrom said. “We took it a little slow this spring, but getting out there obviously is a big plus. I was able to locate it pretty well. … The slider was good. I threw a couple curveballs, the fastball was good. Everything felt good. The main thing is health, and I’m looking forward to getting back out there.”

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