If you read my posts regularly, you know by now that I hate small hitters. Some of them are outstanding from the start, but most need time to learn their craft.
It looks like Jack Leiter he finally learned his craft, became a pitcher and not just a pitcher on the mound. His first taste of the majors in 2024 did not go well. Last season he had a tough time especially at the beginning of the season.
But the Rangers stuck with him, and the more experience he got, the better he got. The success he had in the second half of the 2025 season carried over into 2026, making Leiter a player of the next generation.
Statistics
| A YEAR | LEVEL | GS | WL | IP | The ERA | WHIP | H/9 | BB/9 | K/9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | The NCAA | 22-21 | 13-4 | 125.2 | 2.08 | 0.844 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 14.4 |
| 2022-25 | YOUNG | 61-59 | 11-20 | 259.1 | 4.72 | 1.415 | 7.8 | 4.9 | 11.7 |
| 2024 | The guards | 9-6 | 0-3 | 35.2 | 8.83 | 1.710 | 11.1 | 4.3 | 7.8 |
| 2025 | The guards | 29-29 | 10-10 | 151.2 | 3.86 | 1.279 | 7.5 | 4.0 | 8.8 |
| 2026 | The guards | 4-4 | 1-1 | 20.1 | 4.87 | 1.475 | 9.3 | 3.9 | 10.62 |
Jack Leiter was drafted out of high school by the New York Yankees in the 20th round of the 2019 draft. But instead of signing with the team, Leiter headed to Vanderbilt, where he helped lead the school to the College World Series finals, losing to Mississippi State.
Covid sat out most of the 2020 season, but Leiter started 2-0 with a 1.72 ERA and 0.830 WHIP in his first four appearances. In 2021, the right-hander dominated opposing teams, going 11-4 with a 2.45 ERA and 0.845 WHIP. In 110 innings, he struck out 179 batters, a K/9 rate of 14.6. If there was one problem with Leiter while at Vanderbilt, it was his control. He averaged 4.6 BB/9 in 2020 and 3.7 in 2021.
At the end of the season, the Rangers signed him to a second title, and he began his professional career in 2022 at the Double-A level. But Leiter’s dominance in college wasn’t evident on the mound in the minors. The control issues he had in college were still an issue, along with the fact that he didn’t have a good command of his secondary games.
This led to an ERA of 5.54 and a WHIP of 1.554 with Frisco in 2022, and in 2023, those two numbers were 5.19 and 1.459 in Double-A and Triple-A.
Tools
His four-seamer is the pitch that separates Leiter from most other starters. He throws it at an average of 97.1 mph, which ranks in the 86th percentile in baseball. Throwing it 31% of the time, opposing hitters have only a .111 batting average against the pitch in his first three starts, with a .222 SLG. You attack the top of the strike with this sound, and it rises 1.6 inches above the standard four seams.
Jack Leiter, however, is learning not to rely on his fastball. In 2024, he threw 51% of the time in his nine appearances. So far this season, he’s throwing 31% as he learns to throw and not just throw.
This is the pitch that Leiter has come to rely on more as a weapon to finish off his fastball. It tops out at 90 mph, so there’s a nice difference in speed compared to a fastball. When Leiter first arrived in the majors, he threw a changeup 6% of the time. Last year, that percentage increased to 16.5%, and this year it drops to 25.6% of the time. And there’s a reason for that – it’s a really good pitch with a 43% strike rate and 18.5% layup.
He had trouble with this pitch in his last start against the Dodgers, but most pitchers have trouble against the Dodgers lineup.
Like the fastball, the slider is a pitch Leiter uses less than in previous seasons, but he still has success with it. The pitch doesn’t move much horizontally, but it has a nice, sharp break, 2.8 inches more drop compared to the right than the average slide in the large. Throwing it 18% of the time now (compared to 23% last year), opposing hitters have a .143 average and .357 SLG against a slider with a 50% strikeout rate.
- Curve, Cutter, and Sinker
Jack Leiter covers three other areas – the curve, the cutter, and the sinker. Like his slider, his curve has more of a drop to it than a sweep, with 4.2 inches less break than the average curve for righties, but with two more inches of drop. 10% of the time (28 total throws), opposing hitters don’t get a hit when faced with a pitch. Last season, they had just a .237 batting average against the curve.
The cutter and sink are thrown in more for show than anything else. He threw a cutter 7.8% of the time and sank 7% this season. Combined, the hitters are 3-for-13 against two bases (.231) with one homer and five strikeouts. Cutter could be a pitch Leiter in many respects, especially after not throwing at all last season. But in his first three starts, hitters are 1-for-7 against the pitch with four strikeouts and a 41.7% whiff rate.
Development Started Last Season…
If you were paying attention to Jack Leiter last season, you would be an owner trying to trade him or make sure you keep him on your roster if you already own him. I fell into the first category of owners – I traded him several leagues at the deadline, and I’m glad I did.
Leiter didn’t set the world on fire during the first half of the 2025 season, going 5-6 with a 4.37 ERA and 1.357 WHIP while posting a 7.7 K/9 average. But as June turned into July, Leiter began to see success on the mound. Over his final 13 starts of the season, he had a 3.28 ERA, 1.192 WHIP, and a 10.0 K/9 average. He had a 3.43 ERA and 1.381 WHIP in July, followed by a 2.76 ERA and 1.261 WHIP in August while maintaining a 10.7 K/9 rate. He slowed down in September as his ERA was 4.20, but his command continued to improve as he had a 1.167 WHIP.
…And Transferred This Season
Leiter has had a bumpy road as a professional pitcher, but each season he’s learned to adapt, and it seems like everything points to him having a breakout season. He still walks a lot of batters, but that rate has been hurt by the four walks he allowed against the Dodgers in 3.2 innings of work, and on Thursday, he allowed three walks in 5.2 innings. In his first two starts of the year, he issued just two walks in 11 innings of work. The command is better, but not compatible with every game.
As his command looks better, so does the fact that Leiter is now more of a pitcher than a pitcher on the mound. Professional hitters have proven they can hit good fastballs, and Leiter learned that the hard way. But since joining the Rangers, he has relied less on the fastball and mixed in his other pitches much better to keep hitters off balance. And it’s not just the fact that he mixes his pitches. He has the best moves for them too.
In 2025, his four-seamer hit 17.4 inches, while it sits at 17.9 inches this year. His slider has undergone a major change since last year. By 2025, it had 0.2 inches less break compared to right-handed hitters and 0.4 inches more drop compared to center sliders. This year, those numbers are down 0.4 inches but down 2.8 inches more. Leiter’s slider went from 1.4 inches of rise to 1.3 inches of fall, making it more effective when set to his fastball.
His curve has seen similar improvement in walks. By 2025, it had a 9.7 inch drop and a 0.5 inch drop below the median curve. This year, the curve has a 12.4 inch drop and two more inches of drop compared to the right. His curve is over 12 to 6 pitches now, and thanks to better movement in his slider and curve, and the cutter he’s showing again, he’s attacking all parts of the strike zone this year, making it difficult for hitters to stay in one spot.
The decision
All of this is a long way of saying you should jump on the Jack Leiter bandwagon if you haven’t already. His strike rate has increased, continuing the improvement of last year. His walk rate is low, and a continuation of last year’s improvement. If you’re in a Yahoo league, you’re only listed in 58% of leagues, and that number is only 33% of ESPN leagues. If you’re in a Fantrax league and don’t have Leiter on your team, you’ll have to trade him, as he’s included in 96% of leagues.
But if the right trade can be made, do it. Leiter is only 25, turning 26 next week – so he’s entering the prime of his career, and his long learning curve should be over. Now is the time for him to turn all of his tools into consistent weapons against opposing hitters and become a solid No. 1 starter.
Thank you!
Thanks for reading, and come back next week.
