SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The first three batted balls against Jack Leiter on Sunday afternoon had exit velocities over 100 mph, including a fly out, a double and a triple. The next two -- a double and another fly out -- didn’t register on Statcast.
Then, finally, Leiter fired a 99.8 mph four-seamer to strike out Zach DeLoach to end the first inning against the White Sox. That was just the start of a grind of a four-inning outing for the Rangers’ No. 3 prospect, per MLB Pipeline.
Leiter ultimately allowed just two runs in the first inning before locking down for his remaining three frames. He wasn’t especially efficient though, as he allowed four hits and three walks across his outing in the Rangers' 7-6 loss to the White Sox at Surprise Stadium.
“I think there were a lot of positives to take away from today,” Leiter said. “One of the positives is a negative in that it was just a grind. But I think grinding through an outing like this, it wasn't the sharpest, but I made pitches when I had to. I was a couple pitches here and there away from it being five innings and way less pitches.”
Leiter, who allowed 35 earned runs in 35 2/3 big league innings last season, said he feels like the so-called “bad” outings are better than they were at other points in the past.
Part of that is due to his sinker and changeup, added to diversify his pitch repertoire and allow him to attack the zone with more conviction than ever before.
“I think that another big part of pitching is understanding that bad outings are going to happen,” Leiter said. “Everybody's got them. The whole saying is that if you have 30 starts, you're going to have 10 where everything's locked in, 10 where basically nothing's locked in, and it's the 10 in the middle that make your year. It's also about propping up the 10 bad ones. I wasn't landing my slider, wasn't landing my changeup today, but did you grind and give your team a chance to win at least.”
It’s worth noting that Leiter very well could be penciled into the big league rotation come Opening Day, which wasn’t a given even just a week ago.
Since Leiter’s last Cactus League outing on March 11, the Rangers have lost two starting pitchers in Cody Bradford (elbow soreness) and Jon Gray (wrist fracture). Bradford will be shut down for at least four weeks and Gray for at least six, leaving two spots in the rotation wide open during the final week of camp.
Even before those injuries, Leiter had made a case for himself this spring. He’s allowed five runs in 14 2/3 innings (two starts) of Cactus League play. He has struck out 17 in that time.
“I mean, it always comes back to what you can control,” Leiter said. “One thing that I can control is that I continue to get better and learn from these outings. I feel great about where everything's at. I feel very prepared and excited for what the year has in store, whatever that may be, whenever that may be. I do feel ready to make a jump and compete at a high level and help the team win.”