Texas Rangers Prospect Update: Jack Leiter

Jack Leiter is a highly anticipated name in and around professional baseball. The right-handed pitching Texas Ranger prospect was called up days ago and saw some time on the bump, making his major league debut.

The son of the legendary Al Leiter is a staple out of the notorious Vanderbilt University where he made a strong name for himself. Aside from already carrying the Leiter flag, his performance and pitch arsenal painted an elite image for the north-paw.

Leiter was drafted in the first round, second overall by the Texas Rangers in the 2021 MLB draft. Prior to this he was taken in the 20th round of the 2019 draft by the New York Yankees; this is where he chose to be a commodore.

Since drafted, Leiter has worked 198 minor league innings in the Rangers organization. He’s gained a ton of professional experience and developed his pitch arsenal to pint-point effectiveness and a higher level above college. 256 strikeouts versus 111 walks; these numbers are significant while assessing his ability to pitch and control his matchups.

Rangers: The Command and Performance

Although his ERA sits just above a 5.00, Leiter has proven that his command and effective usage of his pitches has more value and projection. He works four pitches led by a four-seam fastball that sits 94-96 mph, and maxes at 98 mph. The heater was highly effective in the NCAA but professional hitters have adapted and are able to take advantage when left in the zone.

His changeup doesn’t work well and he doesn’t show it often. It has decent deficit but needs to work it more for repetition. The curveball is his second best breaking pitch, sitting between 77-78 mph, and can get decent fishing out of the zone. His out-pitch is his slider which is recently refined with more dart and mid-80s velocity.

Leiter made his Major League debut on April 18th, 2024 against the Detroit Tigers where he threw 3.2 innings, giving up seven earned runs on eight hits, striking out three and walking three. He then returned to Round Rock AAA where he threw six innings of shutout baseball with three strikeouts.

We can expect to see Leiter back in the show soon again.