Texas Rangers Top Pitching Prospect Jack Leiter Reminds Everyone Of Talent With Most Dominating Start Yet

Texas Rangers pitching prospect Jack Leiter put together his best professional start with Triple-A Round Rock on Tuesday.

Feb 20, 2024; Surprise, AZ, USA; Texas Rangers pitcher Jack Leiter poses for a photo during Media Day at Surprise Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports / Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Jack Leiter appears back on track.

The Texas Rangers top pitching prospect shook off a couple of bad outings with another outstanding start for Triple-A Round Rock on Tuesday.

Leiter allowed five singles, walked none, and struck out eight in seven innings Tuesday night in Sacramento.

It was an excellent bounce back after a couple of rough outings in which he allowed 10 runs on 11 hits combined in his previous two starts (4 2/3 innings).

Leiter, 24, has made three starts for the Rangers in 2024, the last on May 14. He's allowed 14 earned runs on 9 1/3 innings for the Rangers.

He threw a season-high 101 pitches Tuesday night, hitting 98.1 mph with his fastball and recording 18 swings and misses, according to reports. He could again be an option for the Rangers this summer. However, with Max Scherzer returning this weekend, and Tyler Mahle expected to be available in late July, the Rangers are hoping there is less need for minor league pitching help.

Leiter's MLB starts helped fill rotation gaps when Dane Dunning, Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray, and Cody Bradford have been injured.

Jack Leiter piles up a half-dozen goose eggs for the Triple-A @RRExpress 🥚

The @Rangers' No. 7 prospect logs eight strikeouts and a season-high 19 whiffs, while topping out at 98.1 mph: pic.twitter.com/orwge5Gtiq

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 26, 2024

Leiter has been dominant in the minors this season, leading the Pacific Coast League in strikeout percentage and strikeout-walk ratio with a 3.61 ERS.

The Rangers selected Leiter with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft out of Vanderbilt.

Jack Leiter. 18 whiffs. Some on high heat, a bunch of sliders, a little of everything else, even two changes. First in the system to 100 pitches this year. pic.twitter.com/wHxkt2nOJj

— Scott Lucas (@scottrlucas) June 19, 2024

Jack Leiter had a fantastic start yesterday, striking out 8 in 7.0 scoreless IP

Leiter has had an up and down season (in multiple ways) but he still wields a very strong fastball and slider, which could be a foundation for reliable SP or RP in the future pic.twitter.com/ZRZlWfoHCq

— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) June 19, 2024

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