The keys to Leiter's rise through the Minors
It’s time to officially add another member of the Leiter lineage to the ranks of Major League Baseball. When Rangers skipper Bruce Bochy announced Tuesday morning that Jack Leiter, whom the club chose with the second overall pick in the 2021 Draft, would be making his big league debut Thursday
It’s time to officially add another member of the Leiter lineage to the ranks of Major League Baseball.
When Rangers skipper Bruce Bochy announced Tuesday morning that Jack Leiter, whom the club chose with the second overall pick in the 2021 Draft, would be making his big league debut Thursday in Detroit, it marked the latest checkpoint in a rapid turnaround for a hurler who has seen a roller-coaster ride of highs and lows since arriving in the pro ranks.
Leiter, who had a rocky 2023 campaign, has shown significant improvement over three starts for Triple-A Round Rock to begin the year. In a league notorious for its offensive output, the Rangers’ No. 8 prospect has shown a keen sense of having reined in his once erratic command; he has allowed just three walks across 14 1/3 innings for a rate of 1.9 BB/9, almost two-thirds less than his career mark of 5.3 BB/9. He’s been able to do so by having a strict focus on what’s directly in front of him.
“Every game is important,” Leiter said in late March. “Every pitch is important. So it doesn't matter where I'm pitching, it matters how I'm pitching. And that's what I'm going to do is focus on executing.”
It certainly helps his case that Leiter has been striking out batters in droves -- more than anyone else in the Minors, in fact. His 25 punchouts entering play Tuesday leads all levels, making his 25/3 K/BB ratio all the more impressive.
That Leiter, the son of former big leaguer, Al, nephew of Mark and cousin of Mark Jr., is getting an early opportunity to prove himself at the big league level is likely no surprise to those who listened to Bochy during spring camp, where the right-hander made a considerable impression on Texas' big league brass.
“He’s looked way more comfortable to me,” Bochy said. “I love his pace, the tempo that he has out there. And he’s throwing strikes. You can see he's different. He's a different pitcher this spring.
“I just really like how he's throwing the ball. I think he's in a good place right now mentally, talking to him. He's got a lot of confidence going in. The command, I think, is much improved.”
When it comes to Leiter’s arsenal, the bread and butter is his four-seam fastball, which he has thrown 54.9 percent of the time this season -- it is one of his two plus offerings (as graded by MLB Pipeline), after all. He logged 21 called strikes and whiffs with the pitch in his most recent start Friday against Triple-A Oklahoma City (Dodgers) with both his max velocity (98.2 mph) and average velocity (96.6) on his heater marking season highs.
The Rangers have ranked near the bottom-third of the Majors in fastballs thrown this season. On the more immediate horizon, Leiter will be tasked with facing a Tigers lineup Thursday that ranks right around league average in most categories against four-seamers to start 2024.
Still just 23 years old, Leiter’s stuff was tested immediately upon entering pro ball. He began his career in the Double-A Texas League, a significant jump even from the ranks of SEC baseball. Adapting to the rigors of the pro game -- along with carrying the pomp and investment of being the No. 2 overall selection in the Draft -- meant that the righty would face a few limitations as his career got underway, with the organization carefully monitoring his workload.
When he repeated Frisco last season and began to post a similar line, Leiter went back to the drawing board, spending most of July and August focusing on his mechanics while on the Development List. He had walked 43 batters across 65 1/3 innings in his first 15 starts of 2023, issuing three or more free passes in seven of those outings. Following his two stints on the Development List, he has walked nine batters across his past eight appearances, the last three of which have come at the Minors’ highest level this year.
Leiter creates a lot of extension with his athleticism, but his timing can get out of whack, leading him to open early and lose direction toward the plate, which hampers his command. The early returns indicate that his off-field work has helped iron out those kinks.
“In modern baseball, with all the data and analytics, there's a lot of numbers you can break down and dissect,” Leiter said in February. “Sometimes it's easy to forget how simple the game of baseball really is.”
“We have high expectations for him,” general manager Chris Young said of Leiter ahead of spring camp. “We’re really excited to see where this goes for Jack.”
Jesse Borek is a reporter/coordinator of prospect content at MLB Pipeline and MiLB. Follow him on Twitter @JesseABorek.
Orioles' Honeycutt joins The Show Before the Show
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Red Sox prospect rips double THROUGH Fenway-esque scoreboard
Red Sox No. 4 prospect Franklin Arias, an infielder for High-A Greenville, REALLY didn’t want to let visiting Asheville score any runs in the top of the eighth inning on Friday night. With runners on first and second base in the bottom of the fourth, Arias showed he apparently held
April's hottest hitting prospects -- one for each organization
The Minor League season is a month old and several of the game's best hitting prospects are off to fast starts. Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony is tearing up Triple-A (just like he did at the end of last year), Padres shortstop Leo De Vries is leading the High-A Midwest
Check out the best -- and wackiest -- Minor League promos happening in May
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast coming LIVE to a Somerset this June
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
New ballparks highlight 2025 MiLB road trip stops
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Minor League Baseball partners with TruGreen
FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- TruGreen, the nation's leading lawn care treatment provider, is proud to announce a groundbreaking partnership with Minor League Baseball that includes activations across all 120 clubs, a makeover of the home dugout in each market, sponsorship of select MiLB team grounds crews, and a new initiative called
Podcast explains why the Syracuse Mets are looking for Jim Morrison
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Dash im-prom-tu promo and Mets' Suero joins the podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Minor League Baseball partners with Circle K
Minor League Baseball announced a new national partnership with Circle K, which will see the convenience store giant become the “Official Convenience Store of Minor League Baseball.” During the 2025 season, the Circle K brand will be integrated into the MiLB in-stadium experience through in-game video board assets at most
These 15 moments led to season No. 15 of Minor League road trips
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast crew makes Opening Day predictions
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Everything you need to know for Triple-A Opening Day
First, there was big league Opening Day. Now it's Triple-A's turn to take the spotlight. The Minor League season opens Friday when the Triple-A International League and Pacific Coast League seasons get underway for the first of MiLB’s two Opening Days. And right out of the gates, several of baseball's
Top prospects to watch at Triple-A -- one for each organization
It’s Triple-A’s turn up to bat on Friday. The regular season begins for the Minor Leagues’ highest level one day after the action starts on the Major League side. Fun fact: it’ll be the earliest start to a Minor League season since 1951 (March 27). Double-A, High-A and Single-A will
Here's where every Top 100 prospect is expected to start the season
The 2025 Opening Day prospect roster announcements began last week when the Cubs informed Matt Shaw (MLB No. 19) he was making the trip overseas to compete in the Tokyo Series. Roki Sasaki (No. 1) also received the good news, but his assignment was much less of a surprise. Now
Nationals prospect King joins MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Here are the 2025 All-Spring Breakout Teams
Fifteen games, several jersey swaps and countless highlights later, the second edition of Spring Breakout has officially concluded – and it lived up to its billing. Of the 16 contests sprinkled across four days, only one game (Dodgers vs. Cubs) was rained out. Coincidentally, the Cubs were one of two
Rox young sluggers aim to bring pop back to Coors Field
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coors Field may provide the best run-scoring environment in Major League Baseball, but the Rockies haven’t taken advantage of it in recent years. Even without adjusting for Coors, they have fielded offenses worse than the league average the past three seasons, and they scored the fewest runs
Astros brass sees potential in consistently 'underranked' farm system
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The last time the Astros landed in the top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s farm system rankings was before the 2019 season. Since those rankings expanded to all 30 teams ahead of the 2020 season -- 11 lists in total -- they’ve never ranked higher than
Complete results and highlights from Spring Breakout
The second edition of MLB Spring Breakout is complete, and there was no shortage of highlights from the future stars of Major League Baseball over the four-day showcase. Here's a complete breakdown of the 16-game exhibition:
Southpaw Spring Breakout: White Sox future on display with Schultz, Smith
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- If all goes as planned for the White Sox, left-handers Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz won’t spend much time following each other to the mound in a single game. Schultz, the No. 1 White Sox prospect and No. 16 overall, per MLB Pipeline, and Smith, who is
In first pro game, Rainer offers pop, promise to Tigers fans
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Bryce Rainer’s pro career consisted of workouts and batting practice until Sunday.
'Me and Brady on the dirt again': House, King reunite at Spring Breakout
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The 2025 Spring Breakout was a flashback for Brady House and Seaver King. Over 10 years ago, the infielders were travel ball teammates in Georgia who shared the dream of making it to the Major Leagues. Now, they are top prospects in the same organization,
Lambert -- 'an adrenaline guy' -- hoping to be next Mets bullpen gem
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Ryan Lambert loves throwing hard. He relishes the idea of getting to two strikes and blowing hitters away. “Get me in a game,” Lambert said, “cool things will happen.”
Stewart embraces Spring Breakout: 'What's not to love?'
PHOENIX -- Sal Stewart was one fired-up Reds prospect. On Sunday in the first inning during the organization's 9-7 Spring Breakout win over Brewers prospects, Stewart lifted a 2-2 pitch that sailed over the center fielder's head to the wall. Already not known as a speedster, he stumbled running between