Jack

Leiter

Leiter came out firing in his spring debut, averaging a sizzling 97 mph on his four-seam fastball — topping out at 98.9 mph — while flashing a brand-new upper-80’s cutter, which was classified as a slider by Statcast in this one. The 25-year-old former top pitching prospect was extremely streaky last year when he posted a respectable 3.86 ERA – 4.45 xERA – 1.28 WHIP and 148/67 K/BB ratio across 151 2/3 innings over a career-high 29 starts at the highest level. It’s relatively easy to envision him putting together a full-fledged breakthrough campaign given his raw talent, but only if he’s able to refine his command. He’s been a late-round pick in NFBC formats since the start of February, coming off the board at pick 255 overall, on average.

While Leiter has proven the ability to miss many bats, he’s still prone to missing his spots. That’s what happened when he grooved an 0-1 changeup to Kyle Manzardo that wound up leaving the yard in the first inning. But after that, he completely shut down the Guardians’ lineup. His fastball was explosive at the top of the zone and that same changeup that burned him early was on point after that. Those two pitches combined to force 11 of his 17 swings-and-misses and the expanded repertoire he came into the season with has turned him into a solid major league starter with upside for much more if he can wrangle in that command just a bit more. Still, a 3.86 ERA across his first full season should be considered a resounding success considering he couldn’t hold a rotation spot before this year.

Leiter gave up a run on two hits in the second inning. He stranded the bases loaded in the third before a hit and a sacrifice fly brought a run in to score in the fourth. After a scoreless fifth, Troy Johnston and Connor Norby slugged back-to-back homers in the sixth to knock Leiter from the game with two outs. He struck out four. The 25-year-old right-hander will take a 3.92 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, and a 138/66 K/BB ratio across 144 2/3 innings into his final regular season start against the Guardians in Cleveland on Friday.

Leiter’s own error led to an unearned run in the first, and a Josh Smith error preceded two more unearned runs in the fifth. He nearly got through seven with just one earned run allowed, but he gave up back-to-back doubles with two outs, and the inherited run scored after he was lifted. Leiter dropped to 9-9 with a 3.82 ERA. His velocity was down just a tad tonight, and he induced only five misses on 50 swings. It’s a little bit concerning, but he has to be kept active with the Marlins next on the schedule.

The 25-year-old right-hander also issued a pair of walks while striking out four batter on the day. All of the damage done against him came with two outs in his final inning of work as Christian Yelich delivered an RBI single and William Contreras followed with a two-run knock. Leiter generated eight whiffs on 89 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of 26 percent. He’ll attempt to get back on track as he carries a 3.81 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and a 130/64 K/BB ratio (132 1/3 innings) into Monday’s divisional showdown against the Astros in Houston.

Both runs came in the first two innings. Leiter held the D-backs hitless the subsequent four innings and finished with eight strikeouts, but it wasn’t enough with the Rangers getting shut out. Leiter dropped to 9-8 with a 3.74 ERA. He’ll face the Brewers at home next time out. He’s not a bad bet then, but that he’s currently due to be matched up with Freddy Peralta, a win isn’t all that likely.

Leither has now whiffed 17 batters over his last two starts. He wasn’t nearly as good as he was Saturday against the Guardians, but that’s more compliment to that start than insult to Friday. The 25-year-old still has some significant command issues to work through, but the quality of his arsenal is palpable. The D-backs are next.

Leiter’s previous high in strikeouts was seven, which he’d done four times. It’s the second time in his career that he’s completed seven innings and the third time that he’s started and not allowed at least one run. Leiter actually had just nine whiffs on 44 swings and 93 pitches, but 21 called strikes gave him a 32% CSW. It’s awfully impressive what he can do when he possesses his best command, but it’d be nice to see him have it more consistently before playing him in mixed leagues. He’ll get the A’s next.

Leiter allowed two homers, four additional hits and three walks and also threw two wild pitches, so it’s pretty incredible that he got out of this allowing only three runs. Luis Curvelo stranding both runners he inherited in the fourth inning helped. Leiter has a 3.86 ERA this month, but he’s pitched a total of 16 1/3 innings in his four starts, all of which have turned into losses for the Rangers. While Leiter himself has a fair 7-7 record and a 4.06 ERA, the Rangers are 7-15 in his starts. He’s due to face the Guardians on Saturday if the team sticks with him in the rotation.

Leiter tossed two scoreless frames before giving up a solo homer to Blaze Alexander to lead off the third. He held the Diamondbacks off the board for two more innings, ending his day with three strikeouts over five frames. The 25-year-old right-hander will take a 3.94 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, and a 96/54 K/BB ratio across 105 innings into a start against the Royals in Kansas City on Monday.