Kumar Rocker holds Blue Jays scoreless over six

Rocker took over after opener Tyler Alexander fired a perfect first inning and authored one of the strongest outings of his career, needing just 76 pitches to navigate five frames. He generated an eye-popping 20 swinging strikes and finished with an other-worldly 46 percent CSW. It was a much-needed rebound performance after getting torched for seven runs over 3 1/3 innings by the Twins his last time out. He limited Miami to just five hits and got some help from his defense as a perfect relay throw from Ezequiel Duran cut down Xavier Edwards at the plate as the potential go-ahead run to end the sixth inning. He’ll get the ball against the Blue Jays in a tough road matchup on Saturday to finish off a two-start week. He’s been extremely volatile from a results standpoint, but his immense strikeout potential makes him an interesting streaming option until further notice.

Rocker has been taking advantage of the pitcher friendly conditions at Globe Life Field this season, but they didn’t help much tonight. He gave up a pair of homers, the first leading off the game from Trevor Larnach and the second, from Kody Clemens, following a single and a walk to open the third. His home ERA jumped from 3.02 to 4.00, putting him at 4.17 overall. He needs to miss more bats in order to get over the hump and become something more than No. 5 starter. It doesn’t help that his average fastball has dropped from 95.8 mph last year to 94.4 mph this season.

The 26-year-old righty issued a pair of walks on the day while punching out three opposing hitters. All of the damage done against him came in the fourth inning. The Royals loaded the bases with no outs, then he got Michael Massey to hit into a double play that pushed a run across, and Kameron Misner followed with an RBI single. Rocker got seven whiffs on 83 pitches on the day, posting a CSW of 25 percent. He’ll bring a 3.56 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and a 52/28 K/BB ratio (65 2/3 innings) into Tuesday’s battle against the Twins.

Rocker struck out five batters on the evening while issuing only one base on balls. He served up a solo homer to Travis Bazzana in the opening inning then allowed a run-scoring single to Steven Kwan in the fourth. That was the extent of the damage done against him. Rocker got nine whiffs on 94 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of 21 percent. He’ll carry a solid 3.54 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and a 49/26 K/BB ratio (61 innings) into Thursday’s battle against the Royals in Kansas City.

Rocker was excellent on Saturday, holding the Royals scoreless over six frames. He scattered three hits and three walks, tossing 52 of 85 pitches for strikes. Rocker succeeded mostly with batted ball luck and weak contact, striking out two and inducing nine fly outs. The outing continues his trend of success at home, ending the day with a 2.95 ERA at Globe Life Field. The 26-year-old right-hander will take a 3.54 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, and a 44/25 K/BB ratio across 56 innings into a start against the Guardians in Texas on Friday.

Coming off one of the strongest outings of his career while pitching behind an opener, Rocker returned to a traditional start here and ran into trouble early. He hit leadoff batter Jeremy Peña, who eventually came around to score on Yordan Alvarez’s sacrifice fly. He settled in briefly before Alvarez connected for a leadoff homer in the fourth, and he was tagged for two additional runs in the fifth before exiting. He finished with five strikeouts and two walks. He’ll close out a two-start week with a favorable home matchup against the Royals on Saturday.

Rocker came in as the follower in the second inning after a scoreless first from Jason Alexander. He’d go on to dominate the Rockies over 7 2/3 scoreless frames, coming one out short of finishing out the game. Rocker scattered three hits and three walks, tossing 65 of 103 pitches for strikes and generating 19 whiffs to strike out seven batters. The 26-year-old right-hander will take a 3.60 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, and a 37/20 K/BB ratio across 45 innings into a home start against the Astros next Monday.

It makes some sense. Rocker has allowed 18 runs this season, and 10 of them have come in the first inning. That’s an 11.25 ERA in the first frame. Perhaps giving him an easier start to the game will help to curtail his ratio struggles. It will also make it easier for him to pick up a win, so we do like this move for fantasy purposes.

Rocker was effectively wild in this one, walking four batters while needing 97 pitches (59 strikes) to complete five frames. He finished with only three strikeouts. The 26-year-old former top pitching prospect has worked beyond the fifth inning only twice in eight starts this season and has yet to top six strikeouts in any of those outings. He’s not a recommended fantasy option when he faces the Rockies at Coors Field on Tuesday.

Rocker had yet another uneven start here. He was consistently behind the eight ball, throwing a first pitch strike to only nine of the 18 hitters he faced and then barely getting the Cubs to swing at anything out of the strike zone. He now has a 5.01 ERA and a poor 27:13 strikeout to walk ratio through 32 1/3 innings on the season. Next up, he’s scheduled to face the Diamondbacks at home.