We have seen the name Jack Leiter associated with the Pittsburgh Pirates a few times recently, as the Vanderbilt right-hander has either been ranked first overall or he went to the Pirates in the latest mock drafts. That was despite his first hiccup of the season last weekend. He had an unreal start to the college season though, so one down game wasn’t going to wipe away everything else. Leiter faced Florida this weekend and had an extremely rough outing, now casting some doubt on his spot as the top prospect in this draft class.
Leiter has thrown 64.1 innings this season, putting up a 2.10 ERA, with a .128 BAA and a 29:106 BB/SO ratio. His teammate Kumar Rocker was considered to be the top overall pick coming into this year. Rocker now has a 1.70 ERA in 69 innings, with a .149 BAA and a 19:97 BB/SO ratio.
On Sunday against Florida, Leiter allowed seven runs (five earned) on five hits, four walks and four strikeout in four innings. Against #4 ranked Mississippi State last weekend, he gave up four runs on six hits, three walks and eight strikeouts in five innings. In his first 55.1 innings of the season, he allowed six earned runs.
As of today, we are still over two full months away from the first day of the 2021 draft, so things are going to continue to change at the top. Leiter still has three regular season starts left this year against Alabama, Ole Miss and Kentucky.
