PITTSBURGH -- Did Kumar Rocker need a come to Jesus moment? He definitely needed something.
Rocker was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock on June 5, just one start following his activation from the injured list. In that start, he allowed five earned runs in 3 1/3 innings in a road loss to Tampa Bay.
Though his pure on-field performance wasn't terrible that game, it was the “little things” that became the difference in a one-run game and led to his ultimate demotion at the time.
But just a week later, he was recalled to the big league club on June 15 following injuries to Nathan Eovaldi and Tyler Mahle limiting the rotation. Texas still only has four healthy starting pitchers.
The Rangers needed an arm. Rocker was handed an opportunity.
“You take anything, you take like a punch in the gut, and try to bounce back from it,” Rocker said of his demotion. “Like I said, a perspective change goes a long way and just try to keep winning. [I needed it], 100 percent. I wasn't doing my job, I wasn’t doing anything to help the team and there was really no reason for me to be up here.”
Come to Jesus moment, perspective change, wake-up call -- whatever you want to call it, it worked.
Rocker tossed 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks on Saturday afternoon, as the Rangers secured the series with a 3-2 win over the Pirates at PNC Park. That's the longest and best road start of his career, as he's pretty consistently struggled away from Globe Life Field in 2025. Entering the day, Rocker had a 2.12 ERA at home and a 15.09 on the road this season.
Rocker was supposed to spend time in Round Rock perfecting his pitch mix and working on the little things that come with being a big league pitcher. In his one start with the Express, he allowed one run in four innings against El Paso.
Due to circumstances outside of anybody’s control, he was back with the big league club sooner than expected. But he looks like a brand new pitcher, the one the Rangers selected in the first round of the 2022 Draft.
“It was just a perspective change,” Rocker said. “You don't know how long you're going to be down there [in Triple-A]. So you start working on things, start expanding the mind a little bit, see what you can get done and see how you can get better. Opportunities come and you just try to make the most of it.”
Rocker has filled the role admirably with his on-field performance since his recall. He has a 1.74 ERA in two starts (two runs in 10 1/3 innings) since he returned from the Minor Leagues.
But those “little things” he was supposed to work on -- holding runners, backing up bases, slide stepping, PFPs, everything -- have also looked much improved in just two starts.
“It just looked like he was doing all the little things right,” Eovaldi said of Rocker. “He was quick with the runners on base, with his side steps, his timings, and he was mixing up all his pitches. He wasn't just throwing fastballs and sliders. He mixed in the slow curveball and the changeup to both sides of the plate. I feel like that's what you have to do up here to have success. And he did.”
Whether Rocker needed the wake-up call is irrelevant.
But not all young players respond well to being sent down. Not all young players have the mental strength to bounce back from it either. Rocker, in a small sample, has done just that.
“It shows you about his makeup,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He knows he has to get better and he did. He did a good job of slide stepping. They got a couple bases, but he's holding runners better. You notice some of those balls, he's backing up bases. That's his game awareness. You see how much that's improved since he's been back.”