ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker have both made the opening day roster with the Texas Rangers, and the recent first-round draft picks will fill the final two spots in the rotation.
The Rangers also said Tuesday that Evan Carter will start the season in the minor leagues. An outfielder who made a dazzling debut late in 2023 before a standout postseason in the club’s run to the World Series championship, Carter had an injury-plagued 2024.
General manager Chris Young said before the team’s final exhibition game that Leiter and Rocker had good flashes during spring training.
“I think the talent on both is obvious, and they’ve earned the right to be out here,” Young said.
Leiter was the second overall pick in the 2021 amateur draft, a year before his former Vanderbilt teammate Rocker was taken third overall by the Rangers. Both made their big league debuts last season, Rocker after Tommy John surgery in 2023.
After Carter’s call-up in September as an injury fill-in in 2023, making his big league debut 10 days after his 21st birthday, he hit .306 with five homers and 12 RBIs in 23 games to finish the regular season.
The left fielder then reached base in all 17 of the Rangers’ postseason games, hitting .300 with an MLB postseason record nine doubles. He also had 10 walks. Carter was limited to 45 games by back in what was supposed to be his first full big league season in 2024.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Stephen Hawkins, The Associated Press
