Rangers get their man.


The Rangers selected Vanderbilt star Jack Leiter.

There’s a trend in the game right now to sign sons of ex-players who then go on to be super stars.

Fernando Tatis Jr., Vlad Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggio, Cody Bellinger, Ke’Bryan Hayes. These are just some of the impact major leaguers whose fathers also played.

The Rangers are hoping they got one of their very own with yesterday’s selection of Jack Leiter in the first round of the draft.

Leiter not only has the pedigree of a father who had a remarkable nineteen-year career, but he was the most accomplished pitcher in the draft, having made a name for himself with a brilliant career at Vanderbilt. 

Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo are the two draft experts of MLB.com. Here is what they had to say about Leiter:

“The Rangers continue their recent trend of taking polished college performers in the first round with Leiter, the best pitcher in this year’s Draft. The son of two-time All-Star left-hander Al Leiter, Jack was spectacular in his only full season of college. He tied for the NCAA Division I lead in strikeouts due to a special fastball that plays well above its 92-97 mph velocity thanks to its outstanding life and induced vertical break. He also has a plus curveball and tremendous mound presence and should get to Texas very quickly.”

Simply put, Jack Leiter could be the ace that has eluded the Rangers draft efforts for fifty years. That’s a lot of expectations to put on a twenty-one-year-old kid. But the Rangers pivoted from their usual pick of a high-ceiling high school infielder. Instead, they chose a guy with a resumé, success in college at the highest level, and a guy who projects to be a number-one starter.

Not bad for a day’s work.

Welcome to the Texas Rangers organization, Jack. 

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