Rocker spooks hitters in scoreless AFL outing

Rangers first-rounder strikes out season-best five in three frames

Kumar Rocker was a scary sight for hitters on Halloween, delivering three scoreless frames for the Saguaros. (Jill Weisleder/MLB Photos)

By MiLB.com staff

October 31, 2022

Surprise 5, Mesa 0 Rangers first-round pick Kumar Rocker (TEX No. 8) delivered his breakthrough performance of the Arizona Fall League, striking out five over three innings of one-hit ball for the Saguaros. The former Vanderbilt star notably did not allow a walk after issuing at least two in each

Surprise 5, Mesa 0
Rangers first-round pick Kumar Rocker (TEX No. 8) delivered his breakthrough performance of the Arizona Fall League, striking out five over three innings of one-hit ball for the Saguaros. The former Vanderbilt star notably did not allow a walk after issuing at least two in each of his first four outings. Rocker and five relievers combined to hold the Solar Sox off the board for the entire afternoon. Three Surprise bats, Astros prospects Will Wagner and Scott Schreiber and Phillies outfielder Carlos De La Cruz, chipped in multihit games. Wagner hit his first AFL home run in the fifth inning while Schreiber and De La Cruz both tripled. Mesa's BJ Murray Jr. (Cubs) had two of his team's four total hits. More »

☠️🎃💀🪦👻@Rangers No. 2 overall Draft pick Kumar Rocker tricked Mesa hitters and was a treat to watch today in the AFL:

3 IP
1 H
0 R
0 BB
5 K pic.twitter.com/0nt0jGVjHE
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) October 31, 2022

Salt River 5, Scottsdale 3
In what has become a theme after an entertaining Halloween edition of batting practice, Cardinals prospects Jordan Walker (No. 1) and Connor Thomas (No. 24) led the way for the Rafters. Walker mashed his fifth home run of the Fall League, bringing baseball's No. 6 overall prospect into a tie with Baltimore's Heston Kjerstad and Minnesota's Edouard Julien for the AFL lead. Walker also doubled and stole third to raise his line to .290/.361/.597 through 17 games. Thomas turned in another excellent outing on the mound, striking out seven -- the third straight game he's reached that mark -- across five innings while allowing one earned run to lower his ERA to 1.59 in five starts. Niko Kavadas (BOS No. 21) homered for the Scorpions, while Kjerstad (BAL No. 9) hit his seventh double, tying him for the AFL lead with teammate Nick Yorke (BOS No. 4). More »

It just sounds different off the bat of Jordan Walker.

The top @Cardinals prospect gives the fans a treat with his fifth dinger of the @MLBazFallLeague to grab a share of the league lead. pic.twitter.com/ne5h4ifvXf
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) October 31, 2022