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The Texas Rangers are promoting their No. 8 overall prospect, right-handed pitcher Jack Leiter, the team announced on Tuesday. Leiter, the No. 2 overall pick by the Rangers in 2021, will make his MLB debut against the Detroit Tigers on Thursday.
Leiter made three appearances for Texas’ Triple-A affiliate this season, including two starts. He posted a 3.77 ERA across 14.1 innings, striking out 25 batters while only walking three. He delivered a quality start in his last outing, fanning 10 hitters across six innings while allowing three solo home runs among the six hits he surrendered.
Leiter was highly-touted out of college after starring at Vanderbilt. Though he made just 21 starts for the Commodores, he shined as the ace of their pitching staff. Leiter recorded 201 strikeouts across 125.2 innings, winning 13 of his 21 starts with a 2.08 career ERA. He helped lead Vandy to the College World Series final in 2021, eventually losing to Mississippi State.
The transition to professional baseball was not very smooth for Leiter. He did not pitch in 2021 after being drafted that July, then struggled in his first minor league season in 2022. In 23 games for the Rangers Double-A affiliate, Leiter compiled a 3-10 record with a 5.54 ERA and 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings.
There wasn’t much improvement in 2023 as Leiter remained in Double-A, making 19 starts with one appearance in Triple-A. Overall he had a 5.19 ERA in 85 innings.
Although it’s a small sample size, the Rangers like what they’ve seen from Leiter this season and believe he’s ready to make an impact for the big-league club. His strikeout numbers are up, the walks are down and he has gone deep in two outings.
Where Leiter fits into Rangers’ plans
This seems like the perfect time to give Jack Leiter a shot in the MLB considering it’s still early in the season, though there will be a little pressure on him to perform for a depleted Rangers rotation.
Cody Bradford, another promising young arm for Texas, was placed on the injured list with a back strain on Sunday after consecutive quality starts. He is just the latest Rangers pitcher to hit the shelf, joining Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer, both of whom are expected back at some point this season.
There is a lot of unknown surrounding the Rangers starting pitching, but what they do know is that Leiter needs to eat some innings if the rest of the rotation is going to continue to pitch the way it has been. Dane Dunning, Jon Gray and Andrew Heaney have a combined 5.10 ERA in nine starts this season.
The Rangers planned to have Leiter in their rotation at some point this season but didn’t expect it to be this soon. He can play his way into the rotation for good by producing quality starts and Texas should allow him to earn his place for the second half of the season.
If Scherzer and deGrom are going to return, that’s two spots in the rotation that Leiter and the aforementioned struggling trio presumably lose. Perhaps the Rangers see a starting rotation of Nathan Eovaldi, deGrom, Scherzer, Bradford and Leiter in the future. What a daunting task that could present opponents during the most important parts of the season.
The Rangers are not off to a particularly roaring start to their title defense, with a 9-8 record through 17 games. They are atop the AL West standings as the rest of the division limps out of the gate.
More must-reads:
- Skubal, pitching staff have Tigers on playoff trajectory
- MLB rankings: The five most disappointing free-agent signings
- The 'Active MLB strikeout leaders' quiz
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