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Texas Rangers prospect Kumar Rocker will bear Tommy John surgical procedure for a torn ligament in the appropriate elbow on his pitching arm, per Kennedi Landry of MLB.com.
The timing is especially tough, as Rangers common supervisor Chris Younger stated the 23-year-old was about to be promoted, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning Information.
“We obtained a glimpse of how good he’s, and it confirmed the whole lot we thought,” Younger stated.
The overall supervisor added extra context to the scenario:
Evan Grant @Evan_P_Grant
Chris Younger says this was an “acute” damage suffered on the mound, utterly completely different from something Rangers had seen in exams. Younger acknowledged there was danger with choose; there may be danger with all pitching https://t.co/TsuJxOIB3D
Rocker is the No. 100 general prospect within the league and the No. 6 prospect for the Rangers, per MLB.com’s rankings. Regardless of his potential, well being considerations have been a significant storyline round his try to succeed in the game’s highest stage.
In August 2021, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reported the New York Mets elected to not signal the Vanderbilt product even after choosing him with the No. 10 general choose within the draft. New York selected to go on the chance so as to add him to the roster after reviewing his medical data.
It was solely ready to take action as a result of Rocker didn’t take part in an MLB-sponsored program that shared pitchers’ medical data forward of the draft. The Mets obtained the No. 11 general choose within the following yr’s draft as compensation for the scenario, in the end choosing catcher Kevin Parada.
Rocker returned to the draft in 2022, and the Rangers chosen him with the No. 3 choose in a transfer that was typically considered a shock.
The precise-hander additionally underwent shoulder surgical procedure in September 2021. Agent Scott Boras stated it was “a minor scope,” per ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan, nevertheless it was nonetheless one other well being scenario.
Rocker made six minor league starts for the Rangers group previous to the newest damage, posting a 3.86 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 42 strikeouts in 28 innings.
