The Texas Rangers were proud to announce that they planned to call up top pitching prospect Jack Leiter to start the game against the Detroit Tigers on Thursday, April 18th. Leiter will be the fifth Rangers prospect to be called to the Big Show to make his Major League debut this season. Jack Leiter is the son of Al Leiter, a former three-time World Series Champion pitcher for multiple teams across the league. His uncle Mark Leiter Sr. was also a pitcher, and his cousin, Mark Leiter, Jr currently pitches for the Chicago Cubs.
It is currently unknown why he is being called up, but he is sliding into Andrew Heaney’s rotation slot. Thus far the Texas Rangers have a rotation of Nathan Eovaldi, Michael Lorenzen, Jon Gray, Dane Dunning, and Jack Leiter. When the rest of the injured rotation returns, there will be a big decision to make for manager Bruce Bochy.
By the Numbers
Drafted in the 1st round of the 2021 Major League Amateur Draft. He is projected to make his debut on April 19th, 2024, against the Detroit Tigers. In his two full seasons in the Rangers farm system, he has pitched for the Frisco RoughRiders and the Round Rock Express. His Minor League W/L record is 6-17 across 46 games, 44 of which were starts with a career ERA of 5.25. He allowed 174 hits, 127 runs, 112 earned runs, 31 home runs, 108 walks, and 248 strikeouts across 192 innings of work. His current season W/L record is 1-1 with an ERA of 3.77. He has appeared in three games this season, allowing eleven hits, seven runs, six earned runs, four home runs, three walks, and 25 strikeouts across 14.1 innings of work.
