KC Royals: Bad 2020 season would land one of two Vanderbilt pitchers
By Cody Rickman
One of the more favorable win projections for the 2020 season has the KC Royals winning 71 games, the fifth lowest total. If the Royals perform at their worst in 2020, there are two Vanderbilt pitchers who could be joining them in 2021.
The 2020 season projections over at fangraphs.com project the Kansas City Royals to finish the 2020 season at 71-91. The 71-win mark would qualify for the fifth lowest win total in the league with the Baltimore Orioles bringing up the rear with a projected win/loss record of 61-101.
The Royals are coming off back-to-back 100 loss seasons and there is hope the 2020 season will see the team take a step forward with progression and success. However, baseball is an unfair game sometimes teams get riddled with injuries, prolonged cold streaks, and flat-out bad luck.
The Royals have lost 100 plus games three seasons in row once in their franchise history. If things go poorly enough in the 2020 season, the Royals will repeat this dubious feat, but that may not be such a bad thing.
The 2021 MLB amateur draft may contain two of the best and most polished pitching prospects the game has seen this century. Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter both starting pitchers at the Vanderbilt University are quickly making names for themselves as possible can’t miss pitching prospects.
If you are the Kansas City Royals front office and the 2020 season is a complete failure, who would you select with the first overall draft choice?
Kumar Rocker – Starting Pitcher (will be 21-years-old for June 2021 draft)
- 2019 (Freshman year – Vanderbilt University): 3.25 ERA, 1.094 WHIP, 114 Ks in 99.2 innings
- 2020 (Sophomore year- Vanderbilt University): 0.75 ERA, 0.667 WHIP, 21 Ks in 12.0 innings (thru February)
Kumar Rocker checks in at a physically imposing 6’5”, 255 lbs. There’s not much left to project in terms of physical maturation with Rocker as his body appears to be maxed out with development. He’s headlining a stacked pitching rotation at the reigning NCAA national champions Vanderbilt University. If he continues his outstanding performance, he’ll continue gain helium as a potential game changing talent.
During the Super Regionals in 2019, Rocker put on a show, recording the first ever no-hitter in Super Regional play during the NCAA tournament history. Rocker struck out 19 batters in his no-hit performance in the Super Regional against Duke University, one night after Duke exploded for 18 runs against Vanderbilt.
Scouting Report (according to fangraphs.com):
Fastball: 60 Slider: 60 (flashes 65) Change-up: 50 Command: 50 Overall: 50
Rocker features a solid three pitch mix with his plus fastball and plus slider leading the way. His fastball tops out around 98-mph, typically sitting around 92-95 mph with sinker movement. His slider flashes potential plus-plus action with horizontal and vertical movement.
His change-up is still developing and figures to be an above-average offering (with nice downward fade movement). His command is further along at this point in his development nearly at its projected future value.
Rocker’s ability to command his fastball and slider to all parts of the zone give him a high floor as a pitching prospect. How well he develops a third pitch will determine if he will be a number one/two type starter in the long-run.
Rocker’s fastball tends to lose its sinking movement when he gets late into his starts or his mechanics are off. If he’s able to be more consistent with his endurance, command, movement, and velocity he’s a potential Ace type pitcher.
Kumar Rocker has a solid floor as a mid-rotation stater or high leverage reliever.
There’s a lot left to the 2020 NCAA season and Vanderbilt figures to be in the thick of another national championship run.
Kumar Rocker headlines an unbelievably talented pitching staff and he will face some the best competition in the SEC conference all season long. His performance already in 2020 projects favorably for making Rocker the top draft selection in 2021 if he continues his dominance.