Where would he land?
Would he be the first overall pick by the Pirates? Would he drop to the Boston Red Sox at No. 4?
When it comes to Major League Baseball’s First-Year Player Draft, Jack Leiter may have been the most talked about pitcher in the country. The Vanderbilt right-hander proved to be electric all season, helping the Commodores reach the College World Series finals.
On Sunday, all questions were finally put to rest.
A 2019 Delbarton graduate, Leiter was taken second overall by the Texas Rangers as the first day of the MLB Draft kicked off in Denver.
Leiter was surrounded by friends and family when he was drafted.
“It’s unbelievable,” Leiter said during an interview with ESPN after he was drafted. “Again, to be with my family and friends here, some of my teammates and former teammates and former coaches, sort of everyone that’s helped me get here, it’s really special.”
Jack Leiter is the son of MLB Network analyst Al Leiter, who pitched for four major league teams – including the Mets and Yankees.
Leiter went 11-4 this past season with 179 strikeouts in 110 innings and posted a 2.13 ERA for the national runner-up.
The righty said his path to Sunday’s draft was not the easiest, having to overcome doubters.
“It’s not smooth sailing for anybody’s path to get here,” Leiter said. “I would say that started at a young age where I wasn’t the biggest guy or the strongest guy. I wasn’t really a pitcher and kind of always kept the dream alive and obviously, had my dad there.
“He gave me some of the best advice in the world. Again, it’s all awesome.”
R.J. Anderson of cbssports.com said: “He has a fastball that doesn’t take the stairway to heaven so much as it ziplines in, hopping over bats on the way to the mitt. That effect is achieved by a combination of its innate ‘rise;’ the flat plane his release point and stature create to the top of the zone; and its mid-to-upper-90s velocity. Scouts would like to see him become more consistent with his secondaries, but there is a belief that he’ll be able to turn at least one of his breaking balls, be it his curveball or his slider, into a trusty outpitch before long.”
As a senior at Delbarton, Leiter was 8-0 with two saves and led the team to the Non-Public A state championship. He struck out 95 and allowed just six earned runs in 58 2/3 innings of work en route to All-State honors, going 2-0 with a save and 26 strikeouts during the state tournament.
Jack Leiter of Delbarton School pitches during a playoff game in Morristown on May 24. (Scott Faytok |NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)Scott Faytok | For NJ Advance Me
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Kevin Minnick covers South Jersey baseball. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @kminnicksports
Luis Torres covers North Jersey baseball. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ByLuisTorres
