Friday Newsletter time: If Jack Leiter's MLB career mirrors father's career, Texas Rangers will have hit the jackpot
The No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 draft has been throwing off a mound with his dad, Al, serving as pitching coach.
Some day in the not-too-distant future Jack Leiter will been interviewed by a Texas Rangers media member and will not be asked about his father.
But Leiter hasn’t thrown a pitch as a professional, so a popular line of discussion is Al Leiter, whose MLB career spanned 19 seasons with four teams and included four appearances in the World Series.
His teams won three of them, though he didn’t pitch in first of the four Fall Classics.
He won 162 games and finished his career with a 3.80 ERA. He’d probably tell you he walked too many batters, but that sure is a nice career.
The Rangers would be absolutely thrilled if Jack Leiter, their first-round pick in the 2021 draft (No. 2 overall), duplicated his dad’s career.
“That’s what he says,” Leiter said Thursday on the Texas Rangers Baseball Podcast. “He’s hoping I can get more rings than him.”
Leiter said he has thrown off a mound five times this offseason, beginning late last month, but is only working at around 75% of his game effort as he gets a feel for pitching again. His father has been serving as pitching coach, rather than relying on Rapsodo or any other kind of technology.
“I have my dad. He’s got the good eye test,” Leiter said. “There’s no technology necessary in my opinion when it’s this early.”
Rangers news!
Any Rangers news during the lockout is a cause for celebration because it results in genuine reporting rather than searching the internet for something even loosely associated with the team that might make for a newsletter item.
Here it is:
The Rangers finalized their major-league coaching staff Thursday be promoting Brett Hayes to bullpen coach and by hiring Seth Connor as assistant hitting coach.
Granted, it’s not the biggest news, but we will take it.
Hayes, 38, has been with the Rangers for the past four seasons after a 13-year career as a catcher, but this will be his first time on the MLB staff after serving as coordinator of run prevention the past four seasons. Basically, he prepared advanced scouting reports and communicated his findings to the coaches and players.
By making Hayes the bullpen coach, co-pitching coaches Doug Mathis and Brendan Sagara will both be in the dugout after Sagara was in the bullpen last season.
Connor is only 29 and has never coached above the complex league, but he got to know manager Chris Woodward and new hitting coach Tim Hyers when they worked for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017.
Card of the Week
I’m not big into digital cards yet, but this one caught my eye because it caught Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s eye and also got me thinking.
It’s the Topps Tenured of Kiner-Falefa, recognizing him as the longest tenured position player with the Rangers.
Here’s where the thinking part comes into play:
Outfielder/DH Willie Calhoun made his MLB debut in 2017, but was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Kiner-Falefa, an infielder, made his MLB debut in 2018, but was drafted by the Rangers in 2013. Catcher Jose Trevino also made his MLB debut in 2018, but he was drafted in 2014. Left-hander Brett Martin was also drafted in 2014, and that’s the year infielder Yonny Hernandez signed as an international free agent.
OK. However, right-hander Jose Leclerc was signed as an international free agent by the Rangers in 2010 and made his MLB debut in 2016.
So, Kiner-Falefa has spent more time in the Rangers organization than any other current position player. That’s quiet an accomplishment. First baseman Ronald Guzman, signed in 2011, would unseat Kiner-Falefa if he were to re-sign as a minor-league free agent.
One more thought: Man, the Rangers really did go young last season.
Doggy video!
Having grown up in Colorado, I can confirm that playing in blizzards is outrageously fun. I just don’t think I ever disappeared into one. Enjoy. See you Monday.
