Rangers Top 30 Prospect Wraps: Jack Leiter
InsidetheRangers.com will review each of the Texas Rangers’ Top 30 prospects, as ranked by MLB.com at the end of the 2022 season.
No. 2: P Jack Leiter, Frisco RoughRiders (Double-A)
Statistics for 2022: Leiter went 3-10 with a 5.54 ERA in 23 games (22 starts). He threw 92 2/3 innings, gave up 88 hits, 69 runs (57 earned), 11 home runs and 56 walks. He struck out 109. Batters hit .246 against him and he had a 1.55 WHIP.
Season Transactions: Leiter spent the entire season with Frisco. He was on the team’s developmental list from June 29-July 10. In between, Leiter was selected for the MLB Futures Game in Los Angeles during All-Star Game weekend. He was on the temporarily inactive list from July 14-19.
Season Summary: The Rangers sent Leiter to Double-A to make his professional debut, and he had difficulty finding a consistent groove all season. Frankly, his best month was April, during which he had an ERA under 3.00. One start would be solid. The next would be shaky. That’s not necessarily unexpected with a first-year pro player. But given Leiter’s draft selection and his pedigree (father and uncle both pitched in the Majors) outsiders probably expected Leiter to dominate. He didn’t. But the Rangers kept putting him out there once per week and he made starts in the RoughRiders’ postseason series, which led to a Texas League crown.
Path Through the Organization: Considered by most to be one of the best pitchers in the 2021 MLB Draft, the Rangers took the son of pitcher Al Leiter No. 2 overall and paid him a team-record $7.922 million to leave Vanderbilt and begin his pro career. The Rangers allowed him to continue his education at Vanderbilt after his draft selection and didn’t drop him into the system until 2022.
What’s next: Given his record at Frisco, Leiter probably starts his 2023 season there. But given that he’s a No. 2 overall pick, the Rangers might try to nudge him to Triple-A Round Rock in April. It will all depend upon how Leiter pitches in spring training and how much progress he’s made since last season. He is not a candidate, for the moment, for the Rangers starting rotation in 2023.
2022 Texas Rangers Top 30 Prospect Wraps:
No. 30: Josh Stephan | No. 29: Mason Englert | No. 28: Marc Church | No. 27: Danyer Cueva | No. 26: Alejandro Osuna | No. 25: Zak Kent | No. 24: Dane Acker | No. 23: Avery Weems | No. 22: Emiliano Teodo | No. 21: Jonathan Ornelas | No. 20: Gleider Figuereo | No. 19: Thomas Saggese | No. 18: Maximo Acosta | No. 17: Mitch Bratt | No. 16: Ricky Vanasco | No. 15: Yeison Morrobel | No. 14: Tekoah Roby | No. 13: Antoine Kelly | No. 12: Anthony Gutierrez | No. 11: Aaron Zavala | No. 10 Cole Winn | No. 9: Dustin Harris | No. 8: Kumar Rocker | No. 7: Luisangel Acuna | No. 6: Brock Porter | No. 5: Justin Foscue | No. 4: Owen White | No. 3: Evan Carter
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