Kumar Rocker DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Texas Rangers starting pitcher Kumar Rocker picked up his first win of the season on Thursday, allowing three runs on five hits over seven innings against the Angels. He struck out eight and walked none, which is encouraging to see after he started the season with a 6:4 K:BB through three starts. His ERA still sits at 6.38 thanks to his rocky start to the year, but he'll look to further improve that in his next time out which is set to be against the Athletics. The former top prospect still has too much upside to ignore for fantasy.

Texas Rangers starting pitching prospect Kumar Rocker allowed seven hits and six earned runs during his season debut on Monday evening against the Cincinnati Reds. Rocker was able to log just three innings of work. He tallied three punchouts but served up two walks. Rocker ran into trouble early as he allowed a leadoff single to TJ Friedl and then a two-run shot by the next batter, Matt McLain. In the second frame, he would allow another long ball, this time to shortstop Elly De La Cruz, which also scored Jose Trevino and McLain. Rocker was able to make the rotation given the injuries to Jon Gray (wrist) and Cody Bradford (elbow). Fantasy managers should monitor his second start as he could be in danger of moving to the bullpen or Triple-A if he has another rough outing. He received a brief look at the majors last season and held a 3.86 ERA with a 1.54 WHIP across 11 2/3 innings. He is projected to face the Tampa Bay Rays in his next start.

Texas Rangers starting pitching prospect Kumar Rocker has earned a role in the starting rotation. Rocker was competing for a spot during camp. During spring training, the Vanderbilt product tossed nine innings and held a 13.00 ERA with a 2.33 WHIP. However, over his final start, Rocker turned the corner as he tallied eight punchouts across four 2/3 innings of two-run ball. Fellow top prospect Jack Leiter also earned a spot in the rotation with Cody Bradford (elbow) and Jon Gray (wrist) sidelined. Rocker made his brief MLB debut last summer and held a 3.86 ERA with a 1.54 WHIP across 11 2/3 innings. In the minor leagues, Rocker posted a strong 1.96 ERA and a stellar 0.79 WHIP across 36 2/3 cumulative innings across Double and Triple-A. Given his prospect pedigree and success in the upper levels of the minor leagues, Rocker is worth adding in all 12-team formats as a high-upside starting pitcher.