Jack Leiter
Texas Rangers – No. 35
Pitcher
Born: (2000-04-21)April 21, 2000 (age 24) Plantation, Florida, U.S.
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
April 18, 2024, for the Texas Rangers
MLB statistics (through 2024 season)
Win–loss record	0–3
Earned run average	8.83
Strikeouts	31
Stats atBaseball Reference
Teams
Texas Rangers (2024–present)

Jack Thomas Leiter (born April 21, 2000) is an American professionalbaseballpitcher for theTexas Rangers ofMajor League Baseball (MLB). He playedcollege baseball for theVanderbilt Commodores and was selected by the Rangers with the second overall pick of the2021 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut in 2024.

Raised inSummit, New Jersey, Leiter attendedDelbarton School inMorristown, New Jersey, where he playedbaseball and was teammates withAnthony Volpe.^[1][2] In July 2018, he played in the 2018Under Armour All-America Baseball Game.^[3] In December, he played on theUSA Baseball 18U National Team inPanama City during the 2018 COPABE Pan-American Championships, helping Team USA win a gold medal.^[4] As a senior at Delbarton in 2019, he was named theGatorade Player of the Year for the state ofNew Jersey.^[5][6][7] At the time of his selection, he was 6–0 with a 0.54 ERA while also batting .364.^[5] Leiter was considered a top prospect for the2019 Major League Baseball draft, but due to his strong commitment toVanderbilt University, was not selected until the 20th round by theNew York Yankees, but did not sign.^[8][9][10]

He attendedVanderbilt University to playcollege baseball.^[11][12] In his college debut on February 18, 2020, Leiter pitched five no-hit innings while striking out 12, leading Vanderbilt to a 3–0 victory over theUniversity of South Alabama.^[13][14][15] He was named theSoutheastern Conference (SEC) Co-Freshman of the Week following the performance.^[16][17] Over 152⁄3 innings, Leiter went 2–0 with a 1.72 ERA before the college baseball season was cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.^[18] As a redshirt freshman in 2021, Leiter returned as a member of Vanderbilt's starting rotation.^[19] On March 20, 2021, he pitched a no-hitter in his SEC debut against South Carolina, compiling sixteen strikeouts.^[20] In his next start, he pitched seven no-hit innings against Missouri.^[21] He was named the SEC Newcomer of the Year alongside being selected a consensusfirst-team All-American.^[22][23] He helped lead Vanderbilt to the2021 College World Series finals and was named to the All-Tournament team.^[24] Leiter ended the 2021 season having started 18 games, in which he compiled an 11–4 record, a 2.13 ERA, and 179 strikeouts over 110 innings.^[25] He was named theBaseball America 2021 Freshman of the Year.^[26]

TheTexas Rangers chose Leiter with the second overall selection in the2021 Major League Baseball draft.^[27][28][29] Leiter signed with Texas on July 28, 2021, receiving a $7.92 millionsigning bonus.^[30][31] Leiter attended an organization draftee orientation at the Rangersspring training complex after signing, but did not appear in a professional game in 2021, instead choosing to return to Vanderbilt to continue college course work.^[32]

Leiter opened the 2022 season with theFrisco RoughRiders of theDouble-ATexas League.^[33] He made his professional debut on April 9, going three innings while allowing one run and striking out seven batters.^[34][35] He was selected to represent the Rangers at the 2022All-Star Futures Game.^[36] Over 23 games (22 starts) with Frisco, Leiter went 3–10 with a 5.54 ERA, 56 walks, and 109 strikeouts over92+2⁄3 innings.^[37] He received a non-roster invitation to major league spring training in 2023,^[38] and returned to Frisco to open the season.^[39] Leiter once again struggled in 2023, including spending almost two months out of game action on the development list.^[40] With Frisco, he went 2–6 with a 5.06 ERA and 110 strikeouts over81+1⁄3 innings.^[41] He finished the 2023 season with one start for theRound Rock Express of theTriple-APacific Coast League.^[42] Leiter returned to Round Rock for the beginning of the 2024 season.^[43] After the season, he won thePacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year Award.^[44]

On April 18, 2024, the Texas Rangers selected Leiter’s contract and promoted him to make his major league debut that day against the Detroit Tigers.^[45] In his debut game, he allowed eight hits and seven earned runs with three strikeouts in3+2⁄3 innings to earn a no decision as the Rangers ultimately won against the Tigers 9–7.^[46]

Leiter's father,Al Leiter, pitched in MLB for 19 seasons.^[47] His uncle,Mark Leiter, and his cousin,Mark Leiter Jr., have also played in MLB.^[48]

Leiter graduated from Vanderbilt in December 2023 with a degree in human and organizational development.^[49]

• Career statistics fromMLB, orESPN, orBaseball Reference, orBaseball Reference (Minors)
• Vanderbilt Commodores bio

• 2000 births
• Living people
• All-American college baseball players
• Baseball players from Union County, New Jersey
• Delbarton School alumni
• Frisco RoughRiders players
• Major League Baseball pitchers
• People from Summit, New Jersey
• Round Rock Express players
• Sportspeople from Plantation, Florida
• Texas Rangers players
• United States national baseball team players
• Vanderbilt Commodores baseball players
• Baseball players from Morris County, New Jersey

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from March 2021