Turns out, the New York Mets did Vanderbilt's Kumar Rocker a favor | Estes

About 10 days ago, Vanderbilt baseball coach Tim Corbin sat at his desk and confidently offered a bold statement about Kumar Rocker.

Two of them, actually.

“Physically, he looks the best he's ever looked.” First off, that was saying something from Corbin, considering what wonders Rocker worked at Vanderbilt. He was less a pitcher and more a phenomenon. No joke, Rocker at one point was probably the most celebrated athlete in our city.

Therefore, much concern accompanied Rocker's past year. He was dealt a terrible hand. He was the big catch the New York Mets drafted in the first round and then tossed back amid medical concerns that – to this day – aren’t wholly understood around Vanderbilt’s program.

“There was nothing here in his time here that would lead us to think that he was injured,” Corbin told me.

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But those weren’t his other bold words I’d mentioned.

These were:

“Who knows? It might have been the best thing to ever happen for him.”

Perhaps Corbin had a hint of what happened Sunday night, when the Texas Rangers threw a curveball by selecting Rocker – fresh off a brief but successful stint in independent ball after minor shoulder surgery – third overall in the 2022 MLB Draft.

It was much higher than expected. Seven spots better than the Mets a year ago.

Rocker has agreed to a deal of $5.2 million, according to the Dallas Morning News, which was about $2.4 million cheaper than the slot value for the No. 3 pick. Surely, that had something to do with the Rangers' decision to draft Rocker.

But it's a good spot for him. The Rangers also drafted Rocker’s former college teammate Jack Leiter last year. The thought of those two Vanderbilt superstars back in the same rotation should be enticing for fans in Texas – and in Nashville, too.

Because Vanderbilt knows what Texas is getting. It was spoiled to watch Leiter and Rocker pitch a flawed team within one victory of a national championship in 2021. Then in 2022, the Commodores saw just how relatively average they became without them.

Leiter had so much talent and tremendous stuff. Rocker was so physically durable and dominant – a power pitcher with a fastball/slider combo that would seem to translate seamlessly into the big leagues.

It was almost unthinkable that the Mets could turn that down.

Almost.

When they passed, they made Rocker wait for the next year’s draft.

“From then, we’re here today. It was a beautiful process,” Rocker told MLB Network on Sunday night. “I’m excited I went through it.”

Best thing for him? Who’d have thought that a year ago?

It could have gone differently for Rocker. Any number of directions, really. That’s always the case when medical worries are on the table, especially with him falling off baseball’s radar for a while before reappearing this summer with the Tri-City ValleyCats of the Frontier League.

The competition wasn't stellar. But when Rocker pitched again, he was clearly ready. He was very good. Same as ever. Enough to make fears ease up in the MLB ranks.

“He had to make the best use of one year,” Corbin said, “and he did. … I think he's going to end up just fine, because once he ends up with a team, then he's going to make his way. I don't worry about him once he gets inside with an organization.”

Indeed, Rocker's story is still in its early stages. Years later, few will remember how weird it began – or how unclear it remains as to why it had to be that way.

All’s well that ends well.

Talent won out. So did hard work, evidently.

Good for Kumar Rocker. He'd earned the right to be smiling on draft night again, and when he did, a lot of folks from Nashville did, too.

Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Gentry_Estes.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: New York Mets did Kumar Rocker – and Texas Rangers – a favor