Texas Rangers right-hander Jack Leiter has started the 2026 season strongly, recording 17 strikeouts over 11 innings with a 2.45 ERA in his first two outings. The No. 2 overall pick from the 2021 draft faces a key test against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday night in Los Angeles. Improvements in his pitch arsenal and control have fueled his early success.
Jack Leiter, the Texas Rangers' right-handed starter, has displayed marked improvement in his first two starts of 2026 against the Baltimore Orioles and Cincinnati Reds. He pitched to a 2.45 ERA while striking out 17 batters in 11 innings, including limiting walks to just two for a 4.5% rate in the 85th percentile among pitchers with sufficient innings. His overall whiff rate stands at 45.3%, ranking second in Major League Baseball among those seeing at least 50 swings, up significantly from 24.3% in 2025. Leiter's slider and curveball have shown enhanced movement compared to similar pitches last year, with the slider gaining 2.9 inches of vertical drop and the curveball 2.5 inches. He has also incorporated a cut fastball more frequently, throwing 13 in these starts after learning the grip from Boston Red Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet; hitters are 1-for-5 against it with two strikeouts. This expands his arsenal to six pitches, helping him miss bats across the board—his curveball boasts a 75% whiff rate and slider 60%. Leiter issued 17 walks in 35 2/3 innings during his 2024 debut (8.83 ERA) and 67 in 2025, sixth-most in the American League, but he has cut free passes sharply this year despite a career-low 44.1% zone rate. Hitters are chasing more pitches outside the zone and whiffing at higher rates. His lone home run allowed came on a sinker to Gunnar Henderson on March 30. Leiter aims to pitch deeper into games this season. “I think it kind of fits what I was trying to accomplish with going deeper into games and throwing more innings this year,” he told MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry in spring training. The upcoming matchup against the Dodgers at 9:10 p.m. ET on Saturday in Los Angeles will gauge whether Leiter can sustain this form within Texas' talented rotation.
