Jack Leiter dominating at Triple-A, but Rangers future still feels like fool's gold

For young Jack Leiter, it seems his success is limited to what level he's pitching at. The right-hander has seen indisputable success during his minor-league stints, but his performance when called up to the MLB roster leaves much to be desired.

And what's even for frustrating for Rangers followers is how much potential Leiter has. The right-hander was the No. 2 overall pick back in 2021 and had high expectations. This was not without good reason. While at Vanderbilt, Leiter logged a career 2.08 ERA in 22 games (21 starts) across 125.2 innings.

Vanderbilt pitching alums are certainly not shy to success in the majors, with Los Angeles Dodgers' Walker Buehler among one of many successful pitchers currently in the league.

It is worth noting that most pitchers need the minor league experience in order to be successful in the majors. Buehler was no exception, going through practically the entire minor-league system for the Dodgers after being drafted in 2015. Buehler was finally called up in 2017.

However, it is a fact that so far Leiter's success has been limited to his time in the minors.

In 2022, Leiter started his professional career with the Rangers' Double-A affiliate — the Frisco RoughRiders. He finished the year with a 5.54 ERA.

This year with Triple-A Round Rock Express, his ERA was at the best its been in his professional career — sitting at 3.59 off of 13 starts and over 62 innings. During April he was called up to the majors, but it did not go well for the 24-year-old.

At Globe Life Field during his first start in May, the rookie allowed six runs off three hits, three walks and two hit batters against the Cleveland Guardians. He did not last two innings.

“I didn’t execute like I know I can,” Leiter said. “It’s frustrating ... there’s a lot of things I could’ve done better, and I will."

His ERA in the majors later catapulted up to 16.39 after his third career start and only slightly over nine total innings pitched.

For fans following the Florida native since his collegiate play, this showing is definitely frustrating given the success he's shown to be capable of.

However, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said he stills sees potential on the mound for Leiter.

“We just don’t see quite the consistency that you need to have up here,” Bochy said. “He’s doing that down in Triple-A and there’s no reason why he can’t do it here. That’s what’s missing with him. There’s no question the stuff plays here. The secondary pitches, you’d like to see him get a little bit more consistent with that. But he’s getting close. These are teaching moments.”

What Leiter does with his potential is up to him, especially if he's going to compete with some of the active big-name pitchers the Rangers have such as Nathan Eovaldi and Max Scherzer. But for now, his minor league success won't change much. Leiter needs to step up in the bigs, and it's unclear if he can do that.