Jack Leiter's Frisco Rehab Start: Triple Digits, Rough Third Inning

It's not every day you get to see Jack Leiter pitch in Frisco, so when it was announced his rehab assignment was shifting from Round Rock to Frisco, I knew I had to go.

Game-time temperature sat at 103 degrees, and Leiter touched triple digits of his own, hitting 100 mph during the outing.

It's not every start but it does seem that often Leiter has one rough inning per outing. Last night was no exception. He cruised through the first two innings before a rough third inning against the Wichita Wind Surge (Twins).

First Inning

Leiter needed just nine pitches (six strikes) to work around a scoreless first, picking up one strikeout. His fastball sat 97-99 mph through the inning (97, 98, 98, 99, 99, 92), mixing in an 85 mph off-speed pitch. He needed only one pitch to record the first out of the game, added a strikeout looking for the second out, and closed the inning on a flyout to right.

Second Inning

Leiter followed with a scoreless second, picking up a couple more strikeouts — one swinging, one looking. He allowed a single but no damage came of it. He was at 22 pitches through two innings, touching triple digits (100 mph) after sitting in the upper 90s.

Third Inning

The third is where things unraveled.
The inning opened with a groundout, followed by a fielding error from Corey Joyce. Leiter then issued a walk on the ninth pitch of the at-bat. Jake Rucker doubled down the left-field line to score two runs, and Brandon Winokur followed with a home run to plate two more. Leiter closed out the inning with a pair of strikeouts.

Fourth Inning

Leiter came back out for the top of the fourth but walked Andrew Cossetti on six pitches, ending his day.

Final Line

3.0 IP | 5 R (4 ER) | 3 H | 2 BB | 5 SO | 9 whiffs

59 pitches, 38 strikes | Topped out at 100 mph

Leiter looked sharp through the first two innings, working efficiently and touching triple digits before the third inning turned things around. His final line reflects a rehab outing with strong swing-and-miss stuff (9 whiffs, 5 strikeouts) alongside the control and sequencing issues that showed up once trouble started in the third.

RoughRiders Offense

The RoughRiders scored 4 runs on 5 hits. Arturo Disla finished with a 2-hit game, Marcus Lee Sang hit a home run, and Yeison Morrobel launched his third home run at the Double-A level, an exit velocity of 101.67 mph. Rafe Perich smoked a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth with an exit velocity of 109.13 mph.