Another prized Texas Rangers prospect is set to join the big league club as pitcher Jack Leiter is getting the call-up to the Major Leagues.
The Rangers needed another starting pitcher, with so many others already injured, after putting Cody Bradford on the injured list amid a great start to the season for the Aledo native and have decided 23-year-old Leiter will get the nod.
According to manager Bruce Bochy, Leiter, the second overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, will debut on Thursday afternoon in the series finale against the Detroit Tigers in Detroit. The move has not officially been made, but Leiter is expected to have his contract selected by the club before Thursday’s game.
Leiter began his minor league career in the Dallas-Fort Worth area with the Frisco RoughRiders, the Rangers’ Double-A affiliate, after being drafted out of Vanderbilt. He has spent the past two seasons between there and Triple-A Round Rock. In six appearances in spring training, he held a 0-2 record with a 4.26 ERA despite holding opponents to a .234 average.
So far this season, he has a 1-1 record and a 3.77 ERA in three appearances with the Round Rock Express. According to MLB.com, he is the club’s No.8 prospect and will be the fourth top-8 prospect to join the club this season. Evan Carter (No.1), Wyatt Langford (No.2), and Justin Foscue (No.5) are the others.
Leiter is also the son of former MLB pitcher Al Leiter, who spent 19 seasons in the MLB with the New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Florida Marlins, and New York Mets and is a two-time World Series champion.
The Rangers (9-8) play three more games against the Tigers (9-7) this week, all set to begin at 12:10 p.m. CT, and Leiter will get the ball for the finale.
Texas won the series opener 1-0 on Monday night as both teams displayed tremendous pitching and defense. Rangers’ starter Michael Lorenzen held his former team scoreless with just three hits across five innings in his Texas debut, and the game’s only run came on a Marcus Semien groundball with the bases loaded.
