Rangers Rising Star Held Back From True Success by one Ineffective Pitch

With the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, the Texas Rangers selected starting pitcher Jack Leiter out of Vanderbilt.

Oozing with talent and potential, he made his MLB less than three years after being selected, on April 18, 2024, against the Detroit Tigers.

Unfortunately for Leiter and the Rangers, his immense upside has not yet translated to the Big Leagues.

In 2024, he made nine appearances, throwing 35.2 innings and recording a ghastly 8.83 ERA. He struggled with control, issuing 17 walks, and was hit hard with regularity by opponents, serving up seven home runs.

Leiter put in the work during the winter to improve and looked better during spring training. When injuries arose, he found himself with a spot in the Major League rotation on opening day.

Starting the campaign by allowing only one run in 10 innings, he was forced to the injured list after two starts because of a blister. Upon his return, he hasn’t been nearly as dominant on the mound.

Leiter now owns a 4.25 ERA and 4.10 FIP though 36 innings. He has done a much better job limiting home runs thus far this year, but his walk rate is actually worse.

One of the reasons that he is struggling with command again is that he cannot control his fastball with any consistency.

Jack Leiter Is Struggling To Harness His Fastball

As shared by Eno Sarris of The Athletic (subscription required), there isn’t a starting pitcher in the MLB who has worse command of their fastball than Leiter. It has played a large part in him owning the fourth-worst Location+ number amongst players with at least 30 innings pitched.

However, in his most recent outing against the Houston Astros, there were some signs that he is starting to turn things around, piggybacking off a historic performance by Jacob deGrom.

“His four-seam fastball command is bad and not likely to get better. Maybe it’s good news, then, that he threw the slider more often than ever in his last start, and also that he’s introduced a sinker he seems to command better. Both things could unlock the excellent stuff and start producing better results, and soon,” Sarris wrote.

His next two probable starts are scheduled to come against the Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals.

Both opponents will present him with an opportunity to get things on track, either harnessing his fastball or continuing to minimize the usage with an uptick in how often he throws the other offerings in his arsenal.

Leiter emerging as a consistent source of production would drastically improve the team's playoff odds.