N.J. native Jack Leiter continues to make his case for being the No. 1 pick overall in the 2021 MLB Draft. On Sunday, the right-hander turned in another dominating performance for Vanderbilt.
MLB.com reports Leiter gave up two runs (one earned) with 11 strikeouts in Sunday’s 4-2 win over Illinois-Chicago. According to the Vanderbilt website, Leiter lasted five-plus innings and his first eight outs all came on strikeouts. Leiter finished his third start of the year with 94 pitches, 57 for strikes, to improve to 3-0 on the season.
According to MLB.com, Leiter has pitched 15 innings this season, giving up just one earned run on five hits. That’s an ERA of 0.60, for those of you keeping score at home. Oh, and he has 26 strikeouts, numbers worthy of making him the top pick in the draft.
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Leiter has seen his name atop several pre-draft lists of baseball’s top prospects:
Leiter, as you know, is the son of former New York Yankees and New York Mets southpaw Al Leiter.
The Pittsburgh Pirates will get the first chance to call Jack Leiter’s name when the draft begins on July 11 in conjunction with the All-Star Game festivities in Atlanta.
This will be Leiter’s second turn in the draft. The Yankees selected him in the 20th round of the 2019 MLB Draft, even though he was set on attending Vanderbilt.
Damon Oppenheimer, the Yankees’ vice president of domestic amateur scouting, explained what New York was thinking when it picked Leiter. Per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand:
“In the 20th round, Jack was obviously the best player on the board. I know his deep commitment to Vanderbilt, but there’s always a percentage chance that something could happen. As minute as it is, it’s there. Vanderbilt is the most likely scenario, though. At that point, it becomes a balancing act. You know you’re probably not going to be able to get him signed in those rounds, so why use the pick? In the 20th round, I’m weighing my odds there; that less-than-1% chance or those relationships, they’re worth it at that point. Jack is going to be a Draft-eligible sophomore in two years, and the idea that the Yankees will have been a big part of his graduating from high school and moving on, it could help us out with information at that point, access to him at that point, stuff like that. There’s a time where there are relationships that are built through some of this.”
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Mike Rosenstein may be reached at mrosenstein@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.