Plotting How Jack Leiter Can Return to Rangers as Injury Rehab Assignment Begins

Now that Jack Leiter is at the final step of the process to return, the time has come to see how quickly he can get back to the Majors.

Texas Rangers starting pitcher Jack Leiter. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Texas Rangers announced a day in advance that injured right-handed pitcher Jack Leiter would begin his injury rehab assignment on Thursday at Triple-A Round Rock.

The announcement is there to drum up ticket sales for the Express’ matchup with the Houston Astros’ Triple-A affiliate, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys. But it also signals the beginning of the final step of his process to get back to the Majors. The question is how quickly he can?

Per Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News (subscription required), Leiter is expected to throw 40 to 45 pitches on Thursday. He threw 33 pitches in a live batting practice on Saturday in Arlington. What happens next is dependent on several factors.

When Can Jack Leiter Return?

Officially, the Rangers can activate him from the 60-day injured list on Aug. 18. That’s in less than a week. It’s unlikely Leiter will be activated after one rehab start, especially if the Rangers intend to build him up as a starter. To do that, Texas will probably want to build him up to 75 pitches.

In most rehab assignments, starting pitchers will scaffold by 12-15 pitches per start. If he hits 45 pitches on Thursday, he could scaffold to 60 pitches the next start and then 75 pitches his third start. That would get him to that threshold by Aug. 25 or 26, depending on rest between starts. But he would still need five days of rest after, making him available around the beginning of September.

That’s enough runway to get Leiter back in the rotation for the final month of the season. But earlier this week president of baseball operations addressed the idea of getting Leiter back sooner — assuming he has no setbacks.

He told 105.3 The Fan that there’s a chance Texas could use Leiter as a reliever in the short term, a move that would get him back to the Majors quicker — and require less of a build-up, thus trimming time off the rehab assignment.

For instance, if he threw 45 pitches on Thursday and then 60 the following rehab game, then he might be built up enough to move into long relief. That might get him back to the Majors at least a week sooner, assuming he doesn’t suffer any setbacks, and his velocity and stuff are where it should be.

Young emphasized the priority is Leiter’s health and that they’ll consult with him before the make a move to the bullpen. But the goal is as healthy a staff as possible as the Rangers expect to be in the AL West and AL wild card race well into September. Leiter can help.

He was 3-7 with a 5.29 ERA in 15 games before he had ankle surgery to remove an extraneous bond that had bothered him all season, to the point where he was altering lower body mechanics to compensate.