No longer searching for path to Texas Rangers’ rotation, Jack Leiter working to be great

Jack Leiter is back for his second full big-league season in the Texas Rangers’ rotation. His 2025 season was a pleasant surprise, and more is expected of him in 2026.

So far this Texas Rangers spring training, Jack Leiter has looked just like he did last year, at least to the naked eye. He has made a few minor tweaks and added a cut fastball to his repertoire, but gone are the days when he would arrive to spring training looking like a different pitcher.

Success is a hell of thing. It breeds confidence, which breeds conviction that what a player is doing actually works and will continue to work. Success is fun, and once attained, the goal becomes to sustain it and improve upon it.

So, that’s where Leiter is now after exceeding expectations during his first full season in the major leagues in 2025. He went 10-10 with a 3.86 ERA over 29 starts/151 2/3 innings after being thrust into the rotation amid spring injuries to Cody Bradford and Jon Gray.

Leiter had pitched well enough to earn a spot on the Opening Day roster, but the injuries gave him a spot in the rotation. His whereabouts for 2026 never came into question during the offseason.

He’s in the rotation, but that doesn’t mean his done proving himself. While he’s in the rotation, he’s not an established MLB starting pitcher quite yet. But that’s the goal.

“It’s just, ideally, continuing to build, continuing to get better each and every day, keep the same process and mindset that I’ve always had, and continue to refine that process,” said Leiter, the second overall pick in the 2021 draft.

“In terms of results, you want to continue to build off of those and go deeper in the games, build on the amount of innings I threw and make all my starts. And I would like to just keep getting better in every regard.”

Leiter is scheduled to make his second Cactus League start Saturday, against the mighty Dodgers, after debuting Monday against the Angels. He unveiled his cutter over two scoreless innings at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

He told reporters in Arizona that he learned the grip from Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet, who as a Tennessee baseball alumnus was allowed to work out at Vanderbilt with Leiter and other ex-Commodores. The pitch is needed, Leiter said, to give hitters a third fastball to consider.

The cutter is slower than a four-seam fastball and comes with late glove-side movement, like a slider but faster. It moves the other direction from a two-seamer/sinker. Leiter’s best pitch last season was his four-seamer, but his worst pitch was the sinker.

He thinks that a cutter or sinker, which he calls secondary fastballs, could help him be more efficient from inning to inning and allow him to go deeper in games.

“That’s how I’m going to achieve efficiency this year,” he said. “Being unpredictable, throwing a lot of strikes, that’s the name of the game.”

Leiter had some trouble last season with the strike-throwing part, issuing 67 walks but only 29 in the second half. He also piled up more strikeouts after the All-Star break and put away hitters by inducing weak contact rather than watching them drag out at-bats by fouling off pitches.

That all coincided with the realization that his stuff plays well in the strike zone, something he gleaned from watching Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi.

“That’s one of those things that comes with experience,” Leiter said. “Everyone’s path is different. Some guys kind of click in that regard right away, and some guys it takes a little longer. And all you can do is continue to stay present and keep getting better at that.

“Obviously, if I want to go deeper into games and throw more innings this season, it’s finding ways to be more efficient. Get quicker outs when you do find yourself in those two-strike counts. How do you end the at-bat right there?”

Eovaldi helped Leiter with scouting reports, especially late in the season, and saw him gain confidence with his off-speed pitches. Seeing them complement the four-seamer caused a spike in confidence, and better game plans allowed him to be more on the attack.

Leiter posted a 3.28 ERA and a .211 average against over 11 second-half starts.

“He did a great job of listening and breaking down each one of his games, whether it was good or bad, and finding out what he could do better and finding ways to get better,” Eovaldi said.

“With a game plan, I feel like it’s one of those tough things where everyone has a game plan, but it comes down to you having your own and knowing what you want to do to those hitters.”

Leiter has the tools, including a sharp mind, to take the next step this season. He also now has the confidence and a better foundation to continue to get better.

“Him understanding that he’s got good enough stuff inside the strike zone, doesn’t have to punch anyone out, I think the thought of 15-or-under would probably be best for him,” manager Skip Schumaker said.

“He’s still learning in this game. He’s got a long way to go, but he’s off to a really good start. I love how the mind works. His mind really works. He’s trying to get better.”

Jeff Wilson, jwilson@alldlls.com