Texas Rangers Skipper Believes Former Top Prospect Has Goods to be Starter

As players prepare for spring training in Arizona and Florida, the evaluation of young talent relentlessly continues, especially for those vying for positions coming out of camp.

The Texas Rangers have potential openings at the back end of their starting rotation.

Established pitchers include ace Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, and Jon Gray, while Tyler Mahle, Cody Bradford and Kumar Rocker are currently under consideration.

One name on Rangers manager Bruce Bochy's mind is Jack Leiter, who has been a highly touted prospect.

In a conversation with Kane McCutchen of Dallas Sports Nation, Bochy is high on Leiter's chances of earning an MLB job out of spring training.

"When you look at Leiter's body of work in the Pacific Coast League and in Triple-A (last year), how well he threw the ball and he was the pitcher of the year," he said. "He just continues to improve, and I think that is what we will see this spring and this season. It's going to be competitive out there with who is on this staff, but he is a guy that is competing for a spot on this team. I believe we will see some good things from Jack this spring."

Leiter was once rated as the Ranger's No. 1 prospect. He was the second overall selection in the 2021 MLB draft out of Vanderbilt. The right-hander earned the PCL honor while pitching for the Round Rock Express after going 6-4 with a 3.51 ERA and 110 strikeouts with only 35 walks. Hitters averaged a paltry .217 facing Leiter.

A call-up to the Rangers, with his first coming in April in Detroit, was justified. However, Leiter did not perform well. In 35.2 innings pitched, he had an ERA of 8.83, with his walks per nine innings increasing and his strikeouts per nine innings decreasing. It was the only time he did not dominate last season.

Projections indicate that Leiter possesses the talent and potential to become a future ace. The Athletic has even ranked him 116th among all pitchers using advanced metrics measuring his Stuff+.

Leiter's brief stint in 2024 provided him with valuable ideas into areas for improvement as he heads into this spring.

Bochy also noted that Leiter has been working on developing a two-seam fastball in the offseason and during spring bullpens.

In his Sept. 20 appearance against the Seattle Mariners, he allowed seven runs on eight hits, while striking out five and walking two in 5.0 innings pitched. Most of his struggles were attributed to fastball location, an aspect that often improves with experience.

Leiter's four-seam fastball averaged 96.4 mph, peaking at 98.2 mph, with two of his strikeouts coming from high fastballs. Notably, all but one of the hits he surrendered came off his four-seamer. While Leiter already boasts a strong fastball and an effective slider, he could enhance their effectiveness by reducing the velocity of his change-up.

Currently, Leiter primarily throws his change-up exclusively to left-handed hitters, averaging 90.5 mph. A slight reduction in velocity on this pitch could make his fastball even more dynamic.

If Leiter can master the two-seam fastball, it would enable him to pitch more aggressively in the strike zone and allow him to pitch inside to right-handed hitters. In an ideal scenario, a well-placed two-seam fastball could also generate early groundouts.

Beyond analytics, Leiter is a legitimate top-tier pitching prospect. Even the best pitchers must adapt to big-league hitters over time. Whether or not Leiter makes the team on Opening Day, he is poised to play a crucial role for the Rangers if the team meets its potential and competes for the AL West Division title.

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