Vanderbilt's Tim Corbin gives update on Kumar Rocker: 'On course to be very healthy'

Former Vanderbilt pitcher Kumar Rocker, who failed to sign with the New York Mets as the No. 10 overall pick in the MLB Draft due to injury concerns, is preparing for the 2022 draft.

Rocker is splitting time between Knoxville and California working out, according to Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin. He is throwing off a mound and on track to potentially pitch in an independent league this summer.

"Based on my conversations with him, (Rocker) could be playing a little bit of baseball this year but it would be in an independent league but I'm still not sure about that," Corbin told reporters Wednesday. "Those are the things that he's doing with his advisement. But he's doing well, he looks great, he looks as great as he's ever looked in my opinion over the last four years, he's working out very well and he's very much on course to be very healthy and be pitching at some point. ... Unfortunate situation, but he's made the best of it."

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Rocker has stayed out of the public eye ever since not signing by the deadline. He will not return to the Commodores this season but is still draft-eligible. A date for the draft has not yet been set due to the MLB lockout.

Mock 2022 drafts have largely had Rocker in the bottom half of the first round, however, there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding his draft stock depending on how other teams feel about his health and how he looks this spring.

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Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on Twitter @aria_gerson.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Corbin: Former Vanderbilt ace Kumar Rocker on track to pitch in spring