Jack Leiter is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Texas Rangers in Major League Baseball (MLB). Born on April 21, 2000, in Plantation, Florida, he is the son of former MLB pitcher Al Leiter and the nephew of Mark Leiter, with his cousin Mark Leiter Jr. also having played in the majors.
Leiter attended Delbarton School in Morristown, New Jersey, where he earned the Gatorade Player of the Year award in 2019. He was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 20th round of the 2019 MLB Draft but chose to attend Vanderbilt University. At Vanderbilt, Leiter made an immediate impact, pitching five no-hit innings with 12 strikeouts in his debut game. He was named the Southeastern Conference Co-Freshman of the Week and went on to have an impressive freshman season. In 2021, he pitched a no-hitter against South Carolina, striking out 16 batters. He finished the season with an 11–4 record, a 2.13 ERA, and 179 strikeouts over 110 innings, earning consensus first-team All-American honors and the Baseball America Freshman of the Year award.
The Texas Rangers selected Leiter with the second overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft. He signed with the team on July 28, 2021, receiving a $7.92 million signing bonus. After signing, Leiter attended an organization draftee orientation but did not play in professional games that year, opting to return to Vanderbilt to continue his studies.
Leiter made his MLB debut with the Rangers on April 18, 2024, against the Detroit Tigers, allowing eight hits and seven earned runs over 4.1 innings. In his first career win on March 28, 2025, he pitched six innings, giving up three runs on five hits and striking out eight. This victory contributed to the Rangers’ 4-1 win over the Boston Red Sox.
This season, Leiter earned a spot on the Rangers’ Opening Day roster, becoming the youngest Texas pitcher to start one of the club’s first two games since Martín Pérez in 2014.