The Rangers are promoting top pitching prospect to the majors, . The No. 3 overall pick from the 2022 draft will make his major league debut and start Thursdays game against the Mariners, per the report. Texas will need to formally select Rockers contract to add him to the 40-man roster prior to that debut appearance. News of Rockers call to the big leagues comes just two days after manager Bruce Bochy downplayed the chances of him pitching in the majors this season. That was followed a day later by GM stating that a promotion of Rocker was still under consideration. Now, in whatll be Colin Selby Jersey just his 17th total appearance since being drafted, Rocker will toe the rubber on a major league mound. Rockers journey to the majors has been an odd one. He and were star teammates at Vanderbilt University and widely considered to be in the mix for the top overall selection in the 2021 draft. Leiter went second overall to the Rangers, of course while Rocker slipped to the tenth pick, held by the Mets. New York ultimately did not sign Rocker, citing concerns over his physical. Rather than return to college, Rocker signed with the independent Tri-City ValleyCats of the Frontier League. He retained his draft eligibility but was not seen as a consensus top-10 pick the second time around. Reactions to the Rangers selection of Rocker with the No. 3 pick in 2022 ranged from surprised to stunned. Rocker looked sharp in his first six starts at the High-A level the season following his selection, but he suffered an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery and knocked him until July of the current season. Since returning, Rocker has rewarded the Rangers faith in spades. He made three shaky starts with the Rangers Rookie-level affiliate in the Arizona Complex League but has since gone on an utter tear, obliterating minor league lineups and forcing his way into the Rangers plans sooner than anyone wouldve reasonably expected after he went under the knife last year. Rocker skipped over High-A this season and went right from the ACL to Double-A. In five starts there and another two with Triple-A Round Rock, hes pitched 29 2/3 innings of 0.91 ERA ball with a laughably dominant 47-to-4 K/BB ratio. Hes fanned 44.3% of his opponents against a minuscule 3.8% walk rate. Hes yielded all of one home run during that run of seven starts. In his two Triple-A outings, hes fanned 18 hitters against one walk in ten innings. Rockers meteoric rise through the Rangers system means that he and Leiter will now be reunited not just as teammates but as rotation-mates in the major leagues. The Rocker/Leiter pairing will give Texas fans a potential glimpse of the future a silver lining near the end of an otherwise disappointing season where the Rangers never seemed to be a true contender to defend last years World Series crown. Leiter certainly hasnt staked a claim to a long-term rotation spot just yet, but hes looked better in his three recent starts than he did in a trio of spot starts earlier this season when he appeared overmatched. Depending on how the final few weeks go for Leiter and Rocker, one or both exciting young hurlers could more convincingly force his way into the Rangers early 2025 plans. Its unlikely Texas would simply pencil both into the rotation and bank on a full season of starts, but the former NCAA standouts are now both squarely in the short-term plans for the organization. Next years rotation will be fronted by , and , health permitting, and its po sible righty will be back as well. Hell trigger a $20MM player option once he completes nine more innings, but given how well hes pitched this season hell also likely turn that down and return to the open market. Righty and lefty are also in the mix for starts next season. Don Buford Jersey