NJ’s Jack Leiter Will Make MLB History In His 1st Start
Jack Leiter will make history this afternoon when he takes the mound for the Texas Rangers against the Detroit Tigers for his MLB debut.
The son of former New York Mets and Yankees pitcher Al Leiter, Jack’s uncle (Mark) and cousin (Mark Jr) also played at the major league level, making the Leiter family the first brothers in MLB history to have sons who made it to the majors.
The road to the major leagues began for Jack in nearby Summit NJ where he played his youth baseball and continued in Morristown where he attended high school at Delbarton.
Following two stellar years at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Jack was the second pick in the first round of the 2021 MLB draft, joining his former Delbarton teammate Anthony Volpe as a first-round pick.
Back when Jack was drafted, his high school coach Bruce Shatel spoke with us about Jack’s high school career, how he was doing at the time at Vanderbilt, and what Jack’s future might be.
On Jack Leiter Drafted In the MLB 2021 First Round
Well, I was just remarkable. It was just a moment where you feel so proud of the kid who’s worked extremely hard at his craft for a long period of time. It was just a thrill for him. It was a tremendous moment for him and his family and his teammates.
Jack Leiter’s Delbarton Baseball Career
Every time out, we’ve got an A plus effort from him. Really strong performance. He was a guy who was a quiet leader, led by example. Never had to worry about him doing his work and others gravitated towards him.
He was a leader on our pitch and staff that, you know, guys have been doing this for a long time. And I think that’s what all of his habits and they learned how to do things correctly and what it takes to get to the next level.
So, you know, I see that today out of our pitchers. Some of the things that Jack used to do in terms of his preparation. You know, they’re still doing it today.
“Late Bloomer”
I kind of chuckle at some of these announcer saying that, you know, Jack’s a late bloomer.
You know, Jack was throwing 98 miles an hour in the county final, you know, just two years ago. He’s a much better pitcher, I think, today than he was in 2019.
His stuff was electric in high school. You know, what I see out of him now is a lot of similarities from when he was pitching at Delbarton.
(He has a) very explosive fastball, a fastball that misses bats, you know, a pro-breaking ball. But, you know, his senior year he started throwing a slider that was just lethal.
One thing that he’s doing now in college that he didn’t need to do at the high school level, and I think he’s going to have to do it at the pro level even more.
He’s going to have to throw his change up a lot more.
The composure, his ability to field his position, to hold runners, you know, he was doing that stuff in high school. He’s just doing it now against better hitters in the SEC.
Jack Leiter’s Composure On the Mound
That credit goes to his father (Al).
His father’s been teaching him, you know, all the intangibles about being a high-level pitcher for a long period of time. And so much of pitching in the mental side of things.
Jack’s done a really good job of absorbing, you know, the valuable lessons that his father was able to teach him in his home.
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5 Great Ways To Shape Up This Spring In Jersey
DANCE
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