Rangers Prospect Jack Leiter Bounces Back
Jack Leiter, the Texas Rangers’ No. 1 prospect, bounced back nicely on Thursday night after a pair of poor starts for Double A Frisco.
Leiter, who is also MLB.com’s No. 17 overall prospect, put together a five-inning effort in which he gave up three hits and a walk while striking out five, as the RoughRiders fell to the San Antonio Missions 7-3.
Leiter gave up all three hits in the first inning, along with a run. But after that he gave up just one more baserunner in his last four innings.
Ben Ludeman / Courtesy of the Texas Rangers
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His earned run average dropped from 6.38 to 5.90 as a result.
Leiter took a no-decision in the loss.
His previous two outings for Frisco were bumpy.
The Rangers’ first-round pick (No. 2 overall) in 2021 pitched for the RoughRiders on May 20 against Corpus Christi. In that contest he gave up seven earned runs in 3 2/3 innings pitched. He also walked one and struck out six in what became an 11-9 win over Frisco.
The start before that, on May 14 against Tulsa, Leiter couldn’t get out of the second inning, giving up seven hits, six runs and one walk while striking out one.
Before the Tulsa game, Leiter had been humming along for the RoughRiders. In his first five starts, he went 1-2, but had a 1.93 earned run average and gave up 10 runs (four of which were earned). He also struck out 24 while walking nine. He even stretched himself to six innings in a May 7 start against Arkansas, which turned out to be his first win of the season.
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Leiter has now made eight starts this season and has a 1-4 record in 29 innings pitched, with 36 strikeouts and 12 walks.
The wins and losses hardly matter at the moment. The Rangers are likely encouraged to see Leiter put his previous two starts behind him and pitch more effectively against the Missions.
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