With the Texas Rangers in need of pitching, top prospect Jack Leiter received his first call to the majors. However, his debut went far worse than predicted, forcing the Rangers to make a hasty substitution.
Texas has demoted Leiter to Triple-A, the organization said. In turn, teammate pitcher Owen White has been called up to the majors.
Leiter pitched only 3.2 innings against the Detroit Tigers, giving up eight hits and seven earned runs. He struck out three and walked three, totaling 82 pitches. Despite Leiter’s terrible start, Texas rallied back to win 9-7.
The Rangers did everything they could to start Leiter’s career off on the right foot, scoring four runs in the opening two innings. However, Detroit responded with four runs of its own in the bottom of the second inning. Another three would score in the fourth. While Leiter only surrendered one home run, he routinely allowed extra base hits throughout his stint.
Texas will take the W, but nothing about Leiter’s start impressed them. Rather than throw him back into the MLB fire, the Rangers will have their top prospect return to the minors for some extra seasoning. They’ll be watching closely at his development as they ponder when is the right time to bring Jack Leiter back to the majors.
What Jack Leiter must do to return to Rangers
Leiter came to Texas with plenty of hype as the No. 2 pick in the 2021 MLB Draft. He was sensational during his time at Vanderbilt, holding a 13-4 record with a 2.08 ERA and a 201/53 K/BB ratio. However, his time in professional baseball has been a different story.
