Jack Leiter Might Already Be the Rangers’ Best Pitcher

The Texas Rangers’ pitching staff was seen as their strength coming into the season. Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi headlined the rotation as co-aces, and offseason acquisition MacKenzie Gore added to the promise of the rotation. It was not expected that Jack Leiter would look like the best pitcher for the Rangers through the early season, but that looks like the case so far.

Jack Leiter Has Been the Texas Rangers’ Ace So Far

Early Season Results

The 2021 draft pick had an up-and-down 2025 with a 3.86 ERA in 151 2/3 innings. Leiter’s best start came in August against the Cleveland Guardians, where he struck out 10, showing his upside. It seems like he might have tapped into that potential this season.

So far, he has made two starts through the young 2026 season, and it looks like he has taken a step forward from 2025. He has a 2.45 ERA in 11 innings with 17 strikeouts and just two walks. That is the lowest ERA on the team and the second most strikeouts, two behind Eovaldi (who has made one more start than him), and he has looked dominant.

The biggest improvement for Leiter has been cutting down the walks. He had 67 walks last year, which equated to four walks per nine innings, while this year he’s at only 1.6 walks per nine.

Despite this, Leiter still has some struggles with command, leading to him not going deep into games. In his start against the Cincinnati Reds, he did not have a single inning where his pitch count was below 15. If he can work on being more efficient and going deeper into games, that would go a long way toward getting more recognition.

The Pitch Mix

His pitches have all been working great. Leiter’s four-seam fastball and his kick changeup make up more than half his pitches at 55 percent, and it is easy to see why, looking at his Baseball Savant page.

His four-seamer has averaged 97.3 mph, with hitters having a .250 batting average against it. It has generated a whiff percent of 42.9, yet only one strikeout. That could throw people off, but Leiter has been using it to set up hitters and not to put them away.