Yankees New Acquisition Mark Leiter Jr Adds Needed Depth to the Bullpen
- Nick Prasad
- Aug 2, 2024
- 3 min read
The trade deadline has reached and all transactions have concluded. The New York Yankees did not make the biggest splash in the market, but they have made all the appropriate moves for the club. The Yankees acquired right-hander Mark Leiter Jr on the final day of the trade deadline.
The Yankees shipped a pair of prospects over to the Chicago Cubs in return for right-hander Mark Leiter Jr. New York shipped Ben Cowles, a double-A shortstop, along with a significant triple-A pitching prospect, Jack Neely.
The six year veteran Leiter Jr has spent his career with three different clubs. He started in the National League with the Phillies, and made his way to the American League.
The righty spent one season with the Toronto Blue Jays before going back to the National League. He spent three seasons with the Chicago Cubs.
What does right-hander Mark Leiter Jr offer the Bronx bombers?
The 33-year old isn’t a huge name for innings, however he’ll provide you the right amount with quality. Leiter Jr is an established back-end guy with reputable offerings. This north-paw reliever is super crafty and dicey in his game.
Coming from the National League, his pitch arsenal will be semi-foreign to some of the local clubs who aren’t familiar with his selections. Leiter Jr has only thrown 36 and 1 / 3 innings this year. He’s faced 152 batters striking out 53 and only walking 13.
Out of the 27 hits allowed, only two of those were home runs. Leiter Jr makes it extremely difficult to barrel up with solid contact. Part of the reason being is that he doesn’t really throw a four-seam fastball.
Mark Leiter Jr Scouting Report and Break Down
The 6’0” 210-pounder comes with experience and is colorful on the mound with his pitch profile. He keeps his four-seam fastball buried in a closet, as he sports a five pitch mix of complete filth and diversity.
The righty throws a sinker which is predominantly his primary option. This is followed by a split-finger, curveball, sweeper, and cutter. His cut-fastball is the least used, most likely because of the word “fastball”.
When the cutter stays on a horizontal dart, it works well. When it’s flat, it’s vulnerable. This is actually a great pitch on right-handers on the inside part of the plate. In 2023, Leiter Jr marked his split-finger as a put-away pitch.
This option is the most raved about pitch option with a 48.2% WHIFF rate, 1.34 batting average against this pitch, and a 30.1% put-away rate. It sees 33.1 inches of drop, averaging 84.7 mph. His sinker isn’t anywhere in between an out-pitch as it’s usually used to find the zone and command a count.
His curveball and sweeper are good options on the secondary end of the menu. Last year, Leiter Jr maintained an 8.8% barrel percentage and a 5% hard-hit percentage.
Due to his acrobatic pitch options, he naturally forces a ton of ground outs as well as flyouts. His swing percentage sits averagely just below 50%, relative to his weapons for sending hitters fishing.
Leiter Jr will get the strikeout when needed, if not force a roll-over. His role with the Yankees could sit as a pre-set up man or a platooned set-up option. He is not exactly the closer type nor a long-relief.
Leiter Jr will be extremely valuable late in the game for the Yankees. This transaction was a huge win for the Yankees at the trade deadline.
Comments