Back In Round Rock, Texas Rangers Star Pitching Prospect Jack Leiter Keeps K's Coming

In his first start since his MLB debut, Jack Leiter struck out eight and held Salt Lake to one hit over six innings Thursday for Triple-A Round Rock.

Apr 18, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Jack Leiter (35) throws a / Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports

A week after making his Major League debut, Jack Leiter was back on the mound for Triple-A Round Rock Thursday.

The right-hander isn't likely to be down there long. Leiter struck out eight and held the the Salt Lake Bees to one hit and a three walks over six innings in the Express' 1-0 win in Round Rock.

Leiter struck out the side on 14 pitches in the first and after former Rangers outfielder Willie Calhoun singled to lead off the second, held the Bees hitless for the next 4.2 innings.

He threw 86 pitches, including 53 strikes. In sixth, Leiter struck out Jason Martin looking with a 95.3 mph four-seam fastball on the outside corner, got Charles Leblanc to groundout on an 86.6 mph slider down in the zone, and got Calhoun to groundout on an inside 87.5 mph slider.

He left with the game scoreless. The Express won it when Sam Huff scored on Sandro Fabian's walk-off double to center field.

The 2021 No. 2 overall MLB draft pick, who turned 24 on Sunday, has 33 strikeouts and six walks in 20.1 innings in the minors in 2024.

In Leiter's lone MLB start, he allowed seven runs on eight hits and three walks in 3.2 innings. His outing would have benefited greatly from a fly ball to center field that was misplayed by Leody Taveras. Instead of an inning-ending fly ball out, two runs scored on what turned into a triple. After an RBI double, Leiter was lifted for the bullpen and charged with three additional runs.

Here’s how he did it ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/sObGgQIn7G

— Round Rock Express (@RRExpress) April 26, 2024

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