Rocker, Zavala, Acuna highlight AFL contingent

The preliminary rosters for the Arizona Fall League have been announced, and the Texas Rangers have several very good prospects who will be joining the Surprise Saguaros this fall.

As expected, pitcher Kumar Rocker will be part of the Rangers’ AFL contingent. Rocker, the Rangers’ first round pick in 2022, has pitched sparingly since being selected (but not signed) by the New York Mets out of Vanderbilt in 2021. The Rangers indicated when Rocker signed that the plan was for him to not pitch in affiliated ball, but get some innings in the fall league.

Other Rangers pitchers on the roster are Jake Latz, Nick Starr, and Grant Wolfram. Latz is the most notable of that group, a 26 year old lefthander who got a spot start in 2021 for the Rangers as a COVID-19 replacement. He has a 5.19 ERA for Round Rock this year, and has missed time due to injury, so this is a way for him to make up some innings. Starr and Wolfram spent the year in the Frisco bullpen, and would appear to be pitching staff depth for Surprise.

As for position players, Cody Freeman, Luisangel Acuna, Jayce Easley, Trevor Hauver and Aaron Zavala are on the preliminary roster. Zavala and Acuna are the most notable of that group — they both started the year at Hickory, ended the year at Frisco, had strong seasons, but also missed time due to injury. Freeman has been converting to catching, and this will be an opportunity to get some more work in at the position.