Jack Leiter Did Something in Orioles Win That Should Thrill Rangers

Jack Leiter took his bow in the Texas Rangers rotation on Monday and claimed his first victory of the season. But there's more to it than that.

Leiter’s performance included the first six-inning start for any Rangers pitcher this season. It also featured Leiter allowing just one walk, something he has struggled with throughout his professional career. Set against eight strikeouts, it's the type of walk-to-strikeout ratio that will play every time he starts.

He also worked around five hits and two earned runs to put his bullpen in great position to finish out the game. Those are all great pieces to the puzzle for a quality start. But there was one thing he did on Monday night that stuck out, something that could make him a dangerous starter for the Rangers.

Jack Leiter’s Big Number

Jack Leiter with a rock-solid night. 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K. That walk to strikeout ratio will play. 92 pitches, 60 strikes. Man, Jacob deGrom has to folllow that. Rough. pic.twitter.com/cR0019eQo6
— Matthew Postins (@PostinsPostcard) March 31, 2026

Leiter threw 92 pitches on Monday and used six different ones. He relied more on his change-up and his slider than ever before. He threw them a combined 49 times. He only leaned into his four-seam fastball, his best pitch last season, 16 times. He threw his curveball 12 times, his sinker nine times and his cutter six times.

The change-up is a pitch Leiter has been working to refine this offseason after adding it to his arsenal last season. The usage on Monday set against last season was notable. He threw the pitch 17% of the time last season but threw it 29% of the time on Monday. That flipped his fastball usage. He use the fastball 39% of the time last season but only 16% on Monday.

The different mix threw Orioles hitters for a loop. After he gave up two hits in the first inning, including a home run to Gunnar Henderson, he didn’t allow another hit until the fifth inning, a Colton Cowser single. That included retiring 10 out of 11 hitters, which leads to the most important number of the outing — whiffs.

Kid's in his bag. #AllForTX pic.twitter.com/lQYv49qYEu
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) March 30, 2026

Leiter generated 21 whiffs. That's the most whiffs he's ever generated in a single Major League appearance, per MLB.com. In addition, he generated 48 swings and 12 called strikes. 60 of his 92 pitchers were either in the zone or close enough to force hitters to do something.

His change-up and his slider were his most dangerous pitches. The two pitches combined to generate 15 of his 21 whiffs. His fastball didn't generate a single whiff. But it likely set up many of the off-speed offerings that did.

It’s one start and Leiter, like all young pitchers, will likely experience some setbacks. But Monday’s start was as close to dominant as Leiter has been at the Major League level and it could be a sign of things to come.