Mets ‘got a steal’ by selecting Kumar Rocker in MLB Draft
This Rocker can probably ride the subway without incident. He may be swarmed on the 7 train by Mets fans, but in adulation instead of anger.
Sunday night, the fan base had already moved past the disappointment of the loss to the Pirates after the team landed acclaimed hard-throwing Vanderbilt right-hander Kumar Rocker with the 10th-overall selection in the MLB draft.
“That’s another animal, but that’s what I think I was made for,” Rocker said over Zoom, referring to the pressure of pitching in New York City.
In the spring, Rocker was in contention to be the No. 1 pick. But the Athens, Ga. native with a fastball that has been clocked in the upper 90s to go with a devastating slider and quality curveball fell — all the way into the Mets’ lap. After a number of surprising selections ahead of them, they gleefully pounced on the Most Outstanding Player of the 2019 College World Series.
“We’re still so elated here — happy — that Kumar got to us. We really thought there was very little chance that this would happen, a pitcher of this talent and his portfolio,” Mets vice president of amateur and international scouting Tommy Tanous said. “This doesn’t happen very often. We feel very fortunate that his name and magnet was still on the board.
“Kumar was more of a dream than anything else.”
He was a highly rated high school prospect, ranked in the top 25, but wasn’t picked until the 38th round by the Rockies in the 2018 draft due to his strong commitment to Vanderbilt.
A source said there were whispers of high money demands and his velocity was slightly down in a handful of outings this year. Still, MLB.com rated him as the sixth-best prospect in the draft and Baseball America had him fifth. Slot value for this pick is $4.74 million.
“I think New York really got a steal at No. 10,” MLB Network draft analyst Jim Callis said on air shortly after the selection.
Rocker said falling won’t motivate him. He would’ve been determined no matter where he was picked.
“From now on, it’s what you do after this,” he said.
The pick was popular. Current Mets Marcus Stroman and Taijuan Walker tweeted at Rocker, welcoming him to the organization, and so did Dwight Gooden.
The 6-foot-5, 245-pound Rocker became the first college pitcher the Mets have taken in the first round since David Peterson in 2017. He has strong athletic bloodlines as the son of former NFL defensive lineman Tracy Rocker.
Rocker was tied for the most strikeouts in the country with 179 in 122 innings. He went 14-4 and compiled a 2.73 ERA, helping the Commodores reach the College World Series. He became a star as a freshman when he threw a no-hitter against Duke in the Super Regionals, a game that propelled Vanderbilt to a national championship.
When asked where Rocker would start in the Mets’ minor league system, Tanous declined to name a first stop, bringing up Rocker’s heavy workload this year at Vanderbilt. He would seem to be a player who can move fast, considering his experience against top college competition. Tanous and amateur scouting director Marc Tramuta were still pinching themselves even after making the selection.
“Sometimes, you don’t walk past the obvious,” Tramuta said, “and for us this was an obvious pick.”