Vandy's Leiter bolstering case to be Pirates' No. 1 pick

NASHVILLE, Tenn.— Trouble began for Jack Leiter on Friday night in a most unusual way. With a strikeout. 

The Vanderbilt right hander has been throwing them all season in becoming appointment TV for baseball fans and the possible No. 1 overall draft pick for the Pirates in July. 

But the Georgia batter that Leiter fanned to lead off the fourth inning was standing on first base at Hawkins Field in a scoreless game. Cole Tate had flailed at a pitch in the dirt that skipped past catcher C.J. Rodriguez, allowing him to reach first safely.

Perhaps a bit unnerved, Leiter walked the next hitter and the Bulldogs' Riley King delivered a one-out RBI single to center as the Commodores’ pitcher hung a breaking ball. In what has been a dominating start to the season for team and individual, Vanderbilt and Leiter found themselves trailing 1-0 and in danger of allowing a big inning. 

How would Leiter respond on a night his stuff was good, but not electric? 

He answered with a perfect pitch to Garrett Blaylock to induce an inning-ending double play. Leiter’s ability to work his way out of jams in the fourth and fifth innings bought the Commodores’ offense time to rally for a 5-2 victory.

“It’s the makings of the game itself,” Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin said of Leiter’s effort. “We don’t get to Point B without him stabilizing the game.”

Any Pirates’ talent evaluators in the park Friday night got to see a different kind of performance from Leiter. Sure, he struck out 13 and limited the Bulldogs to three hits, while walking three over seven innings. But Leiter had to battle in a game where he wasn’t getting run support and had to work deep into counts.

“You’re not going to throw a no-hitter every night,” a National League scout said in reference to Leiter’s recent 16 innings of no-hit ball spanning two games.  “You want to see a guy when he has to work for it and there’s a bit of adversity. He got out a trouble a couple times.”

Leiter found a way 24 hours after Kumar Rocker — Vanderbilt’s other stud pitcher in consideration for the top pick — uncharacteristically struggled against the same opponent. Rocker yielded three home runs and six earned runs in a 14-2 series-opening loss. The junior threw 100 pitches over five innings, while also striking out 12 batters.  

Entering the season, some thought the 6-foot-4, 245-pound right hander with the devastating slider and fastball in the mid-90s would be PNC-Park bound. He might yet be. After all, Rocker has compiled a 7-1 record with a 1.88 ERA, fanning 73 and walking 14 over 48 innings this season. And let's not forget his clutch performances in leading the Commodores to a 2019 College World Series title.   

But Leiter is making a compelling case and, according to an MLB.com anonymous poll, he gets the nod over Rocker three months ahead of the draft. Jim Callis solicited opinions from general managers, executives, scouting directors and area scouts, asking who is the better prospect. The vote was 25-3 in favor of Leiter, although most polled said they consider the two aces to be quite close in talent.

On Friday, Leiter didn’t earn a decision in remaining 7-0 on the season, but he won praise from his coach and a couple scouts anonymously interviewed by DK Pittsburgh Sports. Leiter was not made available to media after the game.

“He has four or five pitches and he can throw them at different speeds in the different quadrants,” an American League scout said. 

The National League scout grabbed his thighs to illustrate a point about Leiter. One knock on the son of former major league pitcher Al Leiter is his average dimensions (6-foot-1, 205 pounds). But the Vanderbilt sophomore does have a strong lower body. They’re not Sidney Crosby thighs, but they help Leiter generate power. 

“That great delivery also helps,” the National League scout said. 

Leiter opened the fifth inning by hitting a batter before surrendering a two-out double. With runners on second and third, Corbin needed his pitcher to get out of the inning only trailing 1-0. 

Another Georgia ground ball. Another Georgia rally gone begging. 

“The runs were very expensive and very hard to come by,” Corbin said in a game Ryan Webb struck out 13 for Georgia. “I think the biggest thing about (Leiter) is getting some older hitters out. They did a good job of taking pitches and making him earn it. 

“I thought that was one of his best performances to be honest with you — considering the circumstances and what he needed to do to keep his team alive.”

It wasn’t a no-hitter like the one Leiter threw in his SEC debut against South Carolina on March 20 or the follow-up start that produced seven more hitless innings at Missouri. 

But on a night when even a strikeout produced a base runner, Leiter navigated  the Commodores through seven tricky innings tied 1-1. Overall, he’s fanned 84 hitters in 49 innings this season and owns a 0.55 ERA. 

Plenty of baseball remains, but Vanderbilt’s No. 2 pitcher might be the Pirates’ No. 1 pick this summer.