Jack Leiter was the No. 2 pick in the 2021 MLB draft but struggled to start his pro career.
Rangers remain in the AL wild-card race, hoping to chase down the Mariners.
The 25-year-old is the son of two-time World Series champion Al Leiter.
PHOENIX — He’s a 25-year-old kid and was already being called a bust.
He was the second pick in the 2021 amateur draft but was branded a failure.
Here are with three weeks to play in the regular season, and Jack Leiter is now being heralded as the Rangers’ savior, instrumental in Texas’ stunning ascent to playoff contention.
“This is one of the things that we have to fight in terms of pitching development,’ Chris Young, Rangers president of baseball operations, told USA TODAY Sports. “It’s not linear. When you have bumps in the road in the development processes, it’s actually a positive because you learn how deal with adversity. Because at no point did he ever quit working. At no point did he ever feel sorry for him. And at no point did he ever question or lose confidence in himself.
“These big-hyped prospects, it’s hard to live up to, but it’s the mind that separates them. Once they mentally understand how good they are what they have to do to be successful, the results seem to happen. I always knew it was in there. You just didn’t know when.’
Well, when happens to be now, with Leiter showcasing his talents just when the Rangers (72-69) need him the most in their playoff push. He has gone 5-3 and yielded 2.89 ERA in his last 12 starts, striking out 75 in 62 ⅓ innings. He gave up two runs in the first two innings on Wednesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, then proceeded to retire 13 of the final 14 batters, giving up just three hits and striking out eight in six innings. It was his third consecutive quality start for the first time in his young career.
“What a great job Jack did,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said in his office. “Early, he was a little off with his command, regrouped, and he just put it in another gear. It just shows you the growth of this young man.’
Leiter is showing just why the Rangers never stopped believing in him, showing a glimpse during this nine-week stretch why he could become one of the preeminent young pitching stars of baseball.
Leiter’s prowess has helped the Rangers overcome the most horrific stretch of injuries manager Bochy has ever seen, losing eight players in 12 days to the injured list. They’ve had heartbreaking defeats with 25 one-run losses and 38 losses by two or fewer runs. Their offense has been abysmal they’ve played 51 games in which they’ve scored two or fewer runs.
And yet after winning nine of their last 12 games, they are back in the playoff race and beginning a critical homestand Friday night against the Houston Astros, thanks to the Seattle Mariners’ struggles.
“I mean, it’s just unreal the number of injuries we have seen here,’ Bochy says. “We’ve had some gut punches. I’ve never had a season like this where we had so many players go on the IL. It started in spring training, graduated from there, and just got worse.
“That’s why Jack can be huge for us. Really, he already has. He’s always had great stuff, but now he’s just learned to harness it. And we’ve sure needed him.’
‘This is a game built on failure’
This is the Leiter everyone envisioned when the Rangers drafted him with the second pick out of Vanderbilt, a kid who pitched a no-hitter in his SEC debut with 16 strikeouts, struck out 179 strikeouts in 110 innings, and featured a 97-mph fastball and lethal curveball.
It’s where expectations got out of control, with fans believing he’d morph into Stephen Strasburg or the second coming of Rangers Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan.
When Leiter struggled his first three years as a pro – going 0-3 with an 8.83 ERA in nine MLB games for the Rangers last season, yielding 61 baserunners in just 35 ⅔ innings – questions arose whether he’d ever live up to the hype.
The criticism was harsh. And it was painful.
“It’s just society in general,’ Young said, shaking his head. “The expectations and pressures on today’s players are greater than ever. There’s more exposure than ever. And there’s a bigger following than ever. It’s a lot to live up to.
“This is a game built on failure, and very few people go through this game without really experiencing a certain level of failure. And when you have those types of pressure and expectations, it seems like it’s under a microscope, which isn’t fair.’
Leiter, the son of two-time World Series champion and two-time All-Star pitcher Al Leiter, and the nephew of 11-year veteran pitcher Mark Leiter, refused to let the ridicule burden him. He stays away from social media. Doesn’t read the press clippings. And doesn’t bother with talk radio.
“That can be tough, but at the same time,’ Leiter said, “those are outside perceptions. I’m not on social media or anything like that. I just kind of just keep to my inner circle. I’ve got my family, my friends, my teammates, and that’s more than enough for me.
“The only expectations I have are for myself, which are obviously high.’
Hey, when you are throwing a 99-mph fastball, a slider, sinker, curveball and newly improved changeup, who wouldn’t set goals to pitch 200 innings and be a 20-game winner?
“I really feel good right now,’ Leiter said. “I would say this is definitely the most confident I’ve felt in my big-league career.
“I’ve learned a lot because even from the bad games there’s always glimpses of good things. You learn from the bad, and you take the good from the bad. There hasn’t been one moment or one game where the confidence has just skyrocketed necessarily, it’s just part of the process.’
Leiter will tell you it has taken a village for him to get here. He’ll prop up a chair and listen to Nathan Eovaldi’s scouting reports. He soaks in the knowledge from two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom. He has learned lessons of perseverance from veteran Patrick Corbin. And he’s always open to advice from his veteran catching corps, led by Kyle Higashioka.
When you’re surrounded by World Series champions and Cy Young winners, Leiter says, it would be foolish for him not to take advantage.
“He’s such a great kid,’ deGrom said. “I don’t want try to overwhelm him because sometimes you get too many people telling you stuff, and you over-think things. But I’ve talked to him about trusting his stuff, and going right at guys. I tell him if you’re in a tough spot, go with your best pitch. That’s the approach I take, I don’t want to get beat on my third or fourth-best pitch.
“You saw him nibble early in the season, but now he’s attacking those hitters, and saying, ‘Here it is, let’s go.’ He had ups and downs early, but kept a level head and kept coming, which is tough for a young kid.’
Said Corbin: “What really stands out to me is that he’s so mature for a young guy. You just see how his work ethic is a lot different from some of the young guys. You’re going to have some failures for sure, but you never saw it get him down.
“Really, there’s no reason that he can’t be one of the best pitchers in the game once he really trusts his stuff, and goes out and lets it go. Really, his stuff is as good as anybody in the game.’
Jack Leiter has ‘this desire to be great’
He’s old-school, too, just like his pop. He’s not trying to throw as hard as he can possibly throw, and high-fiving teammates after going four innings. He’s angry when he doesn’t go at least six or seven innings. He says his job is to go deep, keep his team in games, and give them every possible chance to win.
Leiter has gone at least six innings in six of his starts during the 12-game stretch, including three in a row. He has already had 11 games in which he’s thrown at least 90 pitches, and has still sustained his velocity through his final pitch.
“Jack just has this desire to be great,’ said Young, who pitched 13 years and won a World Series with the 2015 Kanas City Royals as a player and the 2023 World Series with the Rangers as their GM. “When you have guys like that, you have a high level of confidence they’re going to reach their full potential.’
Who knows, with Leiter coming on, deGrom dominating and Merrill Kelly arriving at the trade deadline, maybe the Rangers have what it takes to sneak into the postseason. They can’t expect the Mariners to keep losing, but if they can survive a 12-game stretch against the Houston Astros (six), Milwaukee Brewers (three games) and New York Mets (three), they finish the season with nine against the Miami Marlins, Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Guardians.
“When people started going down, we definitely didn’t think that we’d be playing better,’ Higashioka said. “We kind of kicked it into gear a little bit. We’ve got a sense of urgency now.’
No one gave the Rangers a chance in 2023 when they lost the AL West on the final day of the season, had to travel to Tampa, and proceeded to win 11 consecutive road games in the postseason to win their first World Series.
But here they are, somehow alive, refusing to quit even with $500 million worth of infielders on the injured list with Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, Cy Young candidate Eovaldi done for the season, and outfielder Adolis Garcia perhaps the next to hit the IL.
“You never put limitations on a group of guys that play for each other and believe in each other,’ Young said. “I believe chemistry is the most important aspect of a baseball team, and to see what the guys are doing, and the way they’re fighting and playing for each other right now, I’m just sitting back and enjoying it.
“I love being the underdog, and that’s where are right now. This is the fight we signed up for. I’m excited to see how we finish it.’
A certain 25-year- Who knows, maybe season could wind up with a certain 25-year-old on the mound, with the Rangers’ fate resting on his shoulders?
“Pitching in under this pressure is not going to affect him at all,’ Higashioka says. “Really, nothing fazes him. His fastball is as good as anybody’s, and that changeup makes him so dangerous. Who wouldn’t want him on the mound?
“The way he’s pitching right now, hey, we would all love to see it.’
Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale