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ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas Rangers pitching candidate Kumar Rocker, a top 10 pick in each of the last two MLB Drafts, will require Tommy John surgery after suffering a torn ligament in his right elbow.
Rangers general manager Chris Young said Tuesday that Locker had an MRI after starting last week’s Single-A game against Hickory. Surgery will likely be later this week.
Locker was the No. 3 overall pick by the Rangers last summer, but a year later, after the standout former Vanderbilt was no. was drafted again.
“It was an acute injury. It was nothing like what we saw in post-draft tests and MRIs,” Young said. “It was his last start and it was an injury pitching for us.”
Young said the 23-year-old rocker, who went 2-2 with a 3.86 ERA in six starts for Hickory, was close to promotion when he got injured. He had 42 strikeouts in 28 innings.
“Obviously we are disappointed in him, but we know him very well and we know he will get through this situation and come back better than ever. said Young. “He’s just a man on a mission and he knows this is part of his journey.”
Locker received a $5.2 million signing bonus from the Rangers last year. That was well below the nearly $7.6 million for the No. 3 overall pick.
The 6-foot-5, 245-pound pitcher underwent shoulder surgery in September 2021 before spending the first half of 2022 playing for the Tricity Valleycats of the Independent Frontier League. In five starts, he went 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA in 20 innings, striking out 32 and walking four.
Locker is the only first-round pick in the 2021 Amateur Baseball Draft without a contract. The pitcher and the Mets were unable to reach an agreement by the August deadline because New York City was concerned about the health of his right arm. Rocker’s agent Scott Boras said Rocker had “minor surgery unrelated to pitching” on his right arm.
After the Rangers officially introduced lockers last August, Boras again didn’t detail the procedure, but “I think the point is that Kumar didn’t have the scope he needed to pitch. …the doctor said nothing,” he said. For us, he needed something. It was really just an evaluation of what was there. ”
Locker went 28-10 with a 2.89 ERA in 42 games from 2019-21 when he teamed with right-hander Jack Reiter at Vanderbilt. The Rangers selected Reiter with the second overall pick in the 2021 draft, pitching in Double-A Frisco.