Leiter (foot) will make his next scheduled start with Double-A Frisco, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.
Leiter had to be scratched from his last scheduled outing Sunday due to a sore foot which had been bothering him lately. However, the injury isn't expected to cause him to miss any more time. Leiter boasts a 1.71 ERA and 29:12 K:BB over 21 innings in May with Frisco.
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Rangers' Jack Leiter: Scratched from Sunday's start
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Leiter was scratched from Sunday's start at Double-A Frisco due to foot soreness, Jeff Wilson of RangersToday.com reports.
Leiter was dominant over four starts in May, posting a 1.71 ERA, 29:12 K:BB and 1.05 WHIP in 21 innings. However, he'll be unable to make his final scheduled start of the month. The 23-year-old is considered day-to-day for now, and he'll likely be able to make his next turn through the rotation.
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Rangers' Jack Leiter: Posts first win
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Leiter allowed three hits, two walks and hit a batter while striking out seven over six scoreless innings to pick up his first win in 2023 for Double-A Frisco on Friday.
This was Leiter's best start of the season and possibly his professional career. The first-round draft pick (second overall) in 2021 has battled command issues, walking north of five batters per nine innings over a season-plus in the minors. Texas general manager Chris Young told Kennedi Landry of MLB.com that the right-hander got ahead in counts and was able to land his breaking ball. After walking 14 over his first 16 innings this season, Leiter allowed just three free passes over his last 10 frames.
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Rangers' Jack Leiter: Repeating Double-A level
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Leiter will begin the 2023 season with Double-A Frisco, Levi Weaver of The Athletic reports.
Leiter was the second pick of the 2021 First-Year Player Draft and assigned to Double-A Frisco in his first professional campaign, but he struggled at that level to the tune of a 5.54 ERA and 1.55 WHIP over 92.2 innings. The right-hander certainly has the stuff to someday be a strong fantasy option, but there's obvious risk because of the lackluster command he displayed in 2022.
Leiter hit a batter and struck out one over a scoreless sixth inning in Tuesday's spring game against Colorado.
Leiter made his spring debut, throwing 10 pitches while sitting in the mid-90s with his fastball, according to Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News. It was Vanderbilt day for the Rangers, who deployed two former Commodores drafted in the first round, Leiter and Kumar Rocker, who pitched a scoreless eighth. Leiter went straight to Double-A Frisco in 2022 and didn't fare well through an inconsistent season. The right-hander told Kennedi Landry of MLB.com that last season's experience taught him about processes and routines, and Leiter believes he's learned from the volatile season.
Leiter has a 4.92 ERA, 1.49 WHIP and 107:50 K:BB through 89.2 innings for Double-A Frisco this year.
While Leiter has recently avoided the epic implosions that he suffered through several times earlier this year, he's simply been unable to get a handle on his control issues. The 22-year-old righty has walked three or more hitters in four of his last six starts, and he hasn't finished six innings since way back on May 7. On the bright side, he's done a good job keeping the ball in the yard, he's got a sharp 10.8 K/9, and there's some bad luck in his strand rate, so Leiter hasn't totally lost his prospect allure despite what's been a difficult season.
Leiter (arm) returned from the developmental list and started Sunday for Double-A Frisco, covering 1.1 innings and striking out two while allowing seven runs (six earned) on six hits and two walks.
Leiter was deactivated for about two and a half weeks due to right arm fatigue, but the 22-year-old was likely due to miss some starts in 2022 anyway even if his health hadn't been a concern. The right-hander is believed to be fine physically, but his return to the Frisco rotation still didn't go quite as well as planned. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 first-year player draft remains a high-end pitching prospect, but his first exposure to professional ball hasn't been a smooth one. Through 55.2 innings with Frisco this season, Leiter owns a 5.66 ERA and 1.58 WHIP and has walked 12.7 percent of the batters he's faced.
Double-A Frisco placed Leiter on its development list Wednesday while he contends with minor arm fatigue, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.
Leiter will miss his upcoming start as a result of the move, but the Rangers are optimistic that the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 first-year player draft is dealing with a short-term injury that will be resolved within the next week. The 22-year-old right-hander has endured a somewhat rocky first season in professional ball, allowing only four home runs and racking up 68 strikeouts over 54.1 innings but walking 12.6 percent of the batters he's faced.
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Rangers' Jack Leiter: Shakes off first inning
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Leiter allowed two runs on three hits, a walk and a hit batsman while striking out five over five innings for Double-A Frisco on Thursday.
Leiter, who had been roughed up in his two previous outings, appeared headed for a third poor start after hitting a batter and giving up three hits and two runs in the first inning. However, the 22-year-old right-hander responded by allowing just one base runner over the next four innings. The prized prospect lowered his ERA from 6.38 to 5.90.
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Rangers' Jack Leiter: Makes second MILB start
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Leiter allowed one run on one hit and three walks while striking out four over four innings for Double-A Frisco in Saturday's game against San Antonio.
Leiter made his second start for Frisco, and his control was a little erratic. He needed 75 pitches (42 strikes) to complete his four innings and has walked five over seven innings. The good news is that the 21-year-old struck out 11 and allowed two runs on two hits in two starts, good for a 2.57 ERA and 1.00 WHIP.
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Rangers' Jack Leiter: Begins career at Double-A
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The Rangers assigned Leiter to Double-A Frisco on Thursday, Chris Halicke of SI.com reports.
After being selected with the No. 2 overall pick in last June's first-year player draft and inking a $7.92 million signing bonus, Leiter didn't make his professional debut for the Rangers in 2021. His lack of usage was mainly a result of workload management rather than any concern about his readiness for minor-league action, as Leiter had already piled up plenty of innings in the spring during his final collegiate season at Vanderbilt. After having ample time to rest up, Leiter joined the Rangers' big-league camp this spring and showed enough promise for the organization to have him bypass the rookie-ball, Low-A and High-A levels entirely. Leiter should be one of the first pitchers from the 2021 draft class to arrive in the big leagues, though it may not happen until 2023, unless the Rangers find themselves in playoff contention later this summer.
