SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Every player dreams of making it to the big leagues. Many amateur players never make it. Many also dream of making it there with a friend. That¡¯s even more statistically improbable. Former co-aces at Vanderbilt Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker both made their much-anticipated MLB debuts last season.
Is now the time for the Vandy Boys to officially come together in the Rangers¡¯ rotation?
¡°It is a performance-based game, and they have to earn it,¡± said Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young. ¡°They have to earn it. We have a high level of confidence in both of those players that they are going to be -- and can be -- quality Major League players. But they shouldn't be given anything.¡±
As the Rangers hope to return to contention in 2025, the rotation is headlined by Jacob deGrom, who is perhaps the best pitcher of this generation. Nathan Eovaldi, the ultimate teammate and postseason hero, follows behind him. Rocker and Leiter both relish the opportunity to be in the same room as those guys, to learn from them and pitch in the same rotation.
¡°Once they earn that opportunity, they know they are the right person for the job. That they're not given it because of their Draft status or the money invested in them,¡± Young said. ¡°They're getting it because they actually earned it. There's a big difference mentally in a player knowing that, ¡®I belong here, because I'm the best player,¡¯ versus ¡®I'm being given this opportunity, but somebody performed better than me.¡¯¡±
They both earned it.
Leiter and Rocker were informed on Tuesday that they both made the Rangers¡¯ Opening Day roster, filling out a rotation that should anchor the 2025 club.
Rocker said the two have gotten closer in the years since they left Vanderbilt. Being side by side for their first year in the big leagues will only make it better.
¡°It¡¯s gonna be special,¡± Rocker said.
¡°It's awesome,¡± Leiter added. ¡°We¡¯re both excited. That year at Vandy, I don't think we ever could have imagined that this would be happening -- same team, same rotation, Opening Day rosters. Yeah it¡¯s awesome.¡±
Pitching wins championships, Young always emphasizes. Those two will have to provide major contributions for another championship parade in Texas.
There are going to be bumps in the road. That¡¯s the life of a starting pitcher in the Major Leagues. But the Rangers believe they¡¯ve both proven to be able to handle those bumps and bruises.
¡°I'm thrilled for both those guys,¡± Young said. ¡°What I'm most excited for is watching them continue to improve and grow and help us try to win our division and a championship. That will be the definition of their success. It's not going to be just making the Opening Day club. It's what we do from here, moving forward. But they're ready for this level. They've shown flashes of it. They're great competitors, and they're only going to get better.¡±
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The ¡°Notable Players¡± section on the Vanderbilt Baseball Wikipedia page seemingly never ends. It includes current All-Star big leaguers like Red Sox pitcher Walker Buehler, Cardinals pitcher Sonny Gray, Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson and Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds.
There¡¯s a potential Hall of Famer and 2012 Cy Young Award winner in David Price. There¡¯s Tony Kemp and Joey Cora and JJ Bleday and Mike Yastrzemski. The list goes on and on. The players come and go, but there¡¯s one constant within the Vanderbilt baseball program for the past two decades: Tim Corbin.
Corbin has been the head coach at Vanderbilt since 2003. Since then, he¡¯s transformed the Commodores from a Southeastern Conference bottom dweller to perennial contender. When he arrived, Vanderbilt had only been to three NCAA tournaments in school history. Since ¡®04, they have been to all but one. He¡¯s led the Commodores to two national championships, four SEC regular-season titles and three SEC tournament titles.
Corbin has coached twenty players who went on to be selected in the first round of the MLB Draft in his time at Vanderbilt, but when he recalls recruiting Rocker and Leiter as prep players, one thing stands out to him.
¡°They were just advanced,¡± Corbin told MLB.com. ¡°They were advanced because of their skills, their competitive spirit within competition. They came from different backgrounds, but at the same time, both unique and similar backgrounds.¡±
Leiter¡¯s father is two-time All-Star and two-time World Series winning pitcher Al Leiter. Rocker¡¯s father is College Football Hall of Fame defensive tackle Tracy Rocker, who has coached in college and the NFL over the past two decades.
It¡¯s easy to see where and when the seeds were planted for Rocker and Leiter to become the players they are today.
¡°I think they were both privy to professional sports,¡± Corbin said. ¡°They were privy to big environments, to things that other kids didn't get to have. I think because of that, they both were probably very intuitive to competition. They understood it. I think because of that, being in the bright lights of competition. ¡ They were both kids that had the opportunity to play professional baseball if they chose to do it.¡±
Leiter and Rocker spearheaded the best rotation in college baseball in 2021 for Corbin at Vanderbilt.
Rocker led NCAA Division I in wins (14) and strikeouts (179) that year, while Leiter tied him for the strikeout lead in 110 innings.
The two carried the Vandy Boys to the College World Series finals before ultimately falling to Mississippi State. Rocker and Leiter pushed each other to be better each and every day at Vanderbilt.
¡°When competition is close to you, and you sleep with that competition, you're a resident of that competition inside of a locker room, then there is a natural competitiveness that exists,¡± Corbin said. ¡°It's very healthy for both guys, and very healthy for the team, too. It was very beneficial to Vanderbilt, and I think very beneficial to them too. Kumar would tell you probably he's glad he had someone like Jack on staff. And Jack would tell you the same thing.¡±
A lot has changed since that College World Series loss in 2021.
Leiter -- now the Rangers¡¯ No. 3 prospect, per MLB Pipeline -- was selected No. 2 overall by Texas in the 2021 MLB Draft. Rocker was initially drafted 10th overall by the Mets that same year, but New York didn¡¯t sign him due to medical concerns.
Rocker -- now the Rangers' No. 2 prospect -- went on to sign with the Tri-City ValleyCats of the independent Frontier League to prepare for the 2022 Draft, when Texas selected him at No. 3 overall, reuniting the former Commodore co-aces in the Texas farm system.
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Rocker¡¯s story is well documented.
After all, he became college baseball¡¯s biggest star his freshman year, after throwing a 19-strikeout no-hitter against Duke in the Super Regionals in 2019. That game sent Vanderbilt to the College World Series and he helped them secure the second national championship in program history as he was named the CWS Most Outstanding Player.
He could only be matched by his teammate Leiter his junior year in 2021 with a shortened COVID season in between two.
Then it came crumbling down and has been a roller coaster since.
New York declined to sign Rocker in 2021 after his medical information raised concerns about his right shoulder and right elbow.
After a detour through independent ball, the Rangers selected him in 2022. He dominated High-A hitters in ¡®23, posting a 3.86 ERA with 42 strikeouts and just seven walks across his first six starts before Texas announced he'd need Tommy John surgery on May 16.
But he came back better than ever.
"Every healthy season Rock¡¯s had -- since probably sophomore year of high school -- has been dominant,¡± Leiter said. ¡°There's never really a doubt with him. It's just fun to watch. It really is. He's never not been dominant, in my mind.¡±
Rocker returned to the mound on July 5, 2024, posting a 1.96 ERA over 10 games between the Arizona Complex League, Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock. He struck out eight across five innings of two-run ball in his last start for Round Rock before receiving the September callup.
¡°I just try to be a good pitcher,¡± Rocker said after making it to Triple-A last year. ¡°I was a hard worker and very internally motivated in college. I feel like my play showed that. So going through everything that I've gone through, I don't feel like I've changed much -- but I've also learned to handle adversity.
¡°I've also learned [how] to handle myself a little bit better. I don¡¯t take it for granted. I wouldn't change anything about it. I think that¡¯s just the beauty of the game. The game spit me out back here in Triple-A. So thank you, game.¡±
The same game spit him into the big leagues mere weeks later, when he allowed one run over four innings with seven strikeouts in his Majors debut against the Mariners at T-Mobile Park. In his first full offseason as a big leaguer, Rocker admitted he¡¯s enjoying baseball a lot more these days. But you¡¯ve gotta go through the valleys to get to the peaks, he said sagely. That¡¯s part of the beauty of it, too.
¡°I think all of those things are put in [both Rocker and Leiter¡¯s] lives for a reason,¡± Corbin said. ¡°The reason is just like -- setbacks help comebacks. Those kids will profit from having to go through that. It just adds another layer of skin to what they already have. Their fibers are already very strong individually, so those experiences will help sharpen them and help shape them too in the big leagues.¡±
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The night of the 2021 MLB Draft, Young emphasized that Leiter was the ¡°total package.¡± The Rangers had the No. 2 overall pick, after all. The world was their oyster in terms of Draft prospects.
¡°All along, in my heart, I felt like Jack was the right player for the Texas Rangers,¡± Young said that night. ¡°What I see is a winner. I'm confident that he is going to help enhance what we're building. He embodies everything that we want in terms of our culture, and what we want in our players.¡±
For all the fame that Leiter acquired by his last name and his college career -- including a no-hitter against South Carolina in his SEC debut in 2021 -- his struggles throughout the Minors have become just as notable.
While Rocker was dealing with independent league ball and Tommy John rehab, Leiter spent two years with Frisco in 2022-23, with an ERA north of 5.00 each season. He rebounded to win Triple-A Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year honors in ¡®24, though he was hit around to an 8.83 ERA over 35 2/3 innings in a series of call-ups to the big leagues.
Manager Bruce Bochy said Leiter came into Spring Training in 2025 like a ¡°man on a mission.¡± He¡¯s looked more comfortable than he¡¯s ever been in pro ball. He¡¯s throwing all his pitches -- including a new circle change and a two-seamer -- with confidence. He looks like the guy the Rangers drafted to be a future ace.
¡°It takes time,¡± Young said at the start of camp. ¡°He's still younger than I was when I debuted at 25. I can't understand what it's like being the No. 2 overall pick and the pressures that come with that, and the expectations. But he's just done a wonderful job of continuing to develop and staying the course. There have been bumps in the road, but I'm really excited about his future.¡±
The job is never finished though. Leiter is working and learning each and every day. But the way he carries himself now is notably different than the last three years.
This is just another stepping stone, Leiter said. Playing in the SEC, getting drafted in the first round, going through the ups and downs of professional baseball -- that¡¯s all part of the journey.
There¡¯s never a day in this game that feels like an endpoint. Making the Opening Day roster is just the next step in his career.
¡°It¡¯s just his care level for what he's doing, I think he's balanced,¡± Corbin said. ¡°He's a balanced kid. He's not over the top. He cares highly about what he's doing. He's very driven by it, but yet his thoughts aren't distorted. He's very clear with who he is and what he's doing, and he's not unrealistic.¡±
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The expectation is for Leiter and Rocker to share the rotation in Arlington for years to come. That¡¯s been the expectation from the time they were both drafted. That journey now begins on Opening Day. They¡¯ll keep working to make each other better.
Vanderbilt has had alums on the same MLB team before. Even guys on the same MLB pitching staff, like Buehler and Price on the 2021-22 Dodgers. But never two like this, who nearly brought the program to the peak of college baseball, only to reunite in the big leagues.
¡°I think most would have thought that both of those kids, their arrival times into Major League Baseball, would be relatively quick,¡± Corbin said. ¡°That's okay if it's not. It's not so much how quickly you can get there. It¡¯s about when you get there, can you stay there for a lengthy amount of time and make yourself a career? I both think that they'll both do that.¡±