Selected by the Texas Rangers in the first round (No. 2 overall) of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Vanderbilt University... signed with the Rangers on July 28, 2021... previously selected in the 20th round of the 2019 MLB Draft by the New York Yankeess but did not sign... son of former Major League pitcher and three-time World Series champion Al Leiter... Leiter's contract with Texas includes a signing bonus of $7,922,000, according to MLB Pipeline's Jim Callis, which represents the fourth-largest bonus in Draft history and the largest given to any pitcher since Gerrit Cole received $8 million from the Pirates as the first overall pick in 2011... made his Minor League debut for the Rangers on April 9, 2022 for Double-A Frisco, striking out seven and allowing one hit over three innings.
Played two seasons at Vanderbilt, 2020-21, although his 2020 season was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic... went 2-0 with 22 strikeouts and did not allow a homer in his 2020 season... was named the SEC’s third-best 2021 MLB Draft prospect by D1Baseball... in 2021 at Vanderbilt, he tossed a 16-strikeout no-hitter on March 20 against South Carolina in his his first career SEC start... won his first seven decisions to begin season... instead of joining the Rangers in 2021, Leiter returned to Vanderbilt in the fall to finish his degree in human and organizational development after a hefty workload on the mound during the 2021, when he received a variety of honors, including:
- Unanimous First Team All-American
- Finalist for the Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy
- Named to the ABCA All-Southeast Region First Team
- Named SEC Newcomer of the Year
- Selected to the All-SEC first team and the Newcomer All-SEC squad
- Consensus Preseason All-American
Before Vanderbilt, Leiter attended Delbarton (NJ) High School where he was named the 2019 New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year, a 2019 Under Armour All-American, 2019 Perfect Game All-American, 2019 First Team All-County and 2019 first-team all-conference... he struck out 95 batters in 57 innings as a senior after whiffing 77 batters in 54 1/3 frames a junior... helped team to non-public A state championship twice and was on the Academic High Honor Roll all four years... was ranked the No. 33 prospect in the 2019 Draft class, according to MLB Pipeline... was high school teammate of Yankees No. 1 prospect (as of April 2022) and 2019 first-round Draft pick Anthony Volpe
His father, Al Leiter, pitched 19 seasons in Major Leagues (1987-2005) including with the Yankees, who drafted Al in 1984 and Jack in 2019... Al Leiter's career included stops with the Yankees, Blue Jays, Marlins and Mets... he was a two-time All-Star (1996, 2000) and won three World Series rings with the Blue Jays (1992, 1993) and Marlins (1997)... won the Roberto Clemente Award in 2000... pitched a no-hitter on May 11, 1996 with Florida... was part of the Mets' 2000 team team that went to the World Series against the Yankees... after his career, Al continued to work in baseball as an advisor to the Mets, a color commentator for the Yankees at YES Network and as a studio analyst for MLB Network... has three siblings: Lindsay, Carly and Katelyn... his uncle, Mark Leiter, had an 11-year Major League career as right-handed pitcher (1990-99; 2001) and his cousin, Mark Leiter Jr., pitched in the Majors for two seasons (2017-18)
