Top Pitching Prospect for the Texas Rangers Jack Leiter Moving Forward A Single Inning at a Time

In his second spring training appearance on Tuesday, Texas Rangers rookie right-hander Jack Leiter—the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 MLB draft—allowed a run on four hits in two innings.

Tuesday at Salt River Fields against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Texas Rangers’ top pitching prospect and former No. 2 overall MLB draft pick, looked every bit the potential hurler. It was his second outing of spring training.

He had to battle through a disorganized first inning first, though.

Leiter gave up one run in two innings on four hits. When Eugenio Suárez led off the fourth inning with a 0-1 double to center field, it was the beginning of the most of the damage. Suárez scored on a single to right following a flyout. Leiter gave up two first-pitch singles, the second of which was caught and thrown home by right fielder Evan Carter for the game-ending third out. Leiter then struck out A.J. Vukovich swinging on a 1-2, 90.3 mph cutter down in the zone. He threw 15 strikes out of his 20 pitches. 10-3, the Rangers defeated the D-Backs.

In between innings, Leiter spoke extensively with pitching coach Mike Maddux. It worked, whatever Maddux had taught him. Leiter induced a popout to third, a groundout to first, and a flyout to center with 11 pitches in a 1-2-3 fifth inning.

“I need to be better than that in the first inning, and I know I am,” Leiter stated. “However, the execution and the material feel good. It was improved in the second inning. So just keep building; it’s just development. That’s baseball. After giving up a run on some poorly executed pitches that I made, they made me pay for it, and Evan saved me with a terrific throw and [Andrew] Knapp’s tag.”

Manager Bruce Bochy said he saw a difference in Leiter in the fifth.

“He got comfortable. You could see the longer he was out there, even in the first inning, he just got better and better,” Bochy said. “The second inning was a good inning for him.”