Kumar Rocker has the Rangers' lowest starter ERA, but don't be fooled

A Texas Rangers anomaly occurred at Globe Life Field on Sunday: the offense bailed out the bullpen. This has not been the norm, not only thus far in the 2026 season, but over the past year-and-a-half.

The good guys put up three runs early in support of Kumar Rocker, and the right-hander made it hold up, going six scoreless innings on 85 pitches. Tyler Alexander and Chris Martin blew the lead, but the Rangers prevailed 7-6 with a walk-off single from Ezequiel Duran.

Rocker now has the lowest ERA among the starting staff at 3.54, but a closer look reveals that he hasn't been the most effective pitcher as he has worked through a large amount of traffic against some of the worst offenses in the league.

Kumar Rocker deserves credit for what he has done in May

Make no mistake, Rocker has shown better stamina and command of the strike zone in May. He has lowered his ERA by over a run-and-a-half since the 8th, and kept the Rangers in games despite not getting wins.

He currently has the best ERA among Rangers' starters ahead of Jacob deGrom (3.77), Nathan Eovaldi (3.93) and MacKenzie Gore (3.96).

However, a closer look at the numbers shows that Rocker has still been hampered by some of the same issues that have kept him from taking the next step as a big-league pitcher.

With a 1.32 WHIP, Rocker is still dealing with way too much traffic on the base paths. His K/BB ratio is an unimpressive 18/15 in May and he still hasn't shown the ability to consistently locate his best pitch; a crippling change-up that drops from the knees to the toes through the contact zone.

He has a 22.8 percent whiff rate, placing him in the 30th percentile in the majors, meaning he is not fooling hitters the way he should be with his electric stuff.

Rocker has still not shown he can contain the league's better players

Rocker has made his bones against several of the worst-hitting teams in MLB in May. He has performed well against the Kansas City Royals, who rank 29th in runs scored this season, and the Colorado Rockies, a team that plays in the most hitter-friendly park in the country but still ranks in the league's bottom third in OPS.

The Houston Astros, the only team with a quality lineup that Rocker has faced in May, got to him for four runs over five innings in an embarrassing 9-0 no-hit loss on May 25.

To be clear, Yordan Alvarez, Jeremy Pena and Christian Walker will make a lot of opposing hurlers look average by comparison. Still, the next step in Rocker's development is throwing that seven or eight inning gems during which he holds down one of the league's top lineups three to four times through the order.

It's encouraging to see the talent against lesser teams he should do well against, but the organization clearly hopes the 26-year-old former first-round draft pick is on the cusp of becoming an ace.

Rocker's next scheduled start is on the road against the Cleveland Guardians on June 5. They are a middle-of-the-pack offensive team, but adding another quality start would illustrate that his current upward trajectory is warranted.

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