April 18: Texas officially selected Leiters contract on Thursday morning. The Rangers optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move. To create space on the 40-man roster, they transferred lefty reliever to the 60-day injured list. Burke broke his last week and will now be out of action until at least the middle of June. April 16: The Rangers announced this morning that top pitching prospect will have his contract selected to the major league roster and make his big league debut Thursday against the Tigers. Texas has a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move to accommodate the right-hander, whom they drafted with the No. Jim Mudcat Grant Jersey 2 overall pick in 2021. Its an early birthday present for Leiter, wholl turn 24 just three days after making his long-awaited debut. The second-generation talent is the son of two-time World Series champion and two-time All-Star , the nephew of 11-year MLB veteran , and the cousin of current Cubs setup man The fourth Leiter to reach the majors, Jack hasnt had the most straightforward path to the show despite his considerable draft and prospect pedigree. He annihilated hitters in college ball at Vanderbilt, fanning 41% of his opponents in two seasons prior to being drafted, but struggled with command following an aggre sive a signment to Double-A right out of the gate. Leiter walked more than 13% of his opponents and posted an ERA north of 5.00 in each of his first two seasons at the Double-A level but has been an absolute monster in his first three Triple-A appearances this season. In 14 1/3 innings, hes punched out 25 of his 57 opponents (43.9%), walked only three (5.3%) and surrendered just 11 hits. Four of those, unfortunately, have left the yard and saddled Leiter with a 3.77 ERA thats far le s impre sive than his overpowering K-BB profile would otherwise suggest, but its hard not to be encouraged by the strikeout and walk trends. Thats especially true given that Leiter also pitched 12 2/3 innings for Texas this spring and posted a much-improved 9.6% walk rate in that short time as well. Texas rotation has been hammered by injuries. , signed to a five-year contract in the 2022-23 offseason, opened the year on the 60-day injured list after undergoing surgery last June. , acquired at least years trade deadline, required offseason back surgery to repair a herniated disc. Twenty-six-year old southpaw was a godsend through three starts to begin the season (1.40 ERA) until he suffered a lower back strain of his own and was subsequently placed on the 15-day IL. Leiter will step onto a starting staff thats in flux. Veteran righty , who inked a one-year deal late in spring training, made his Rangers debut yesterday with five shutout frames over his former Tigers teammates (albeit with five walks against four strikeouts). Veteran lefty wouldve been on tap for Thursdays start, but hes yet to last five innings in any of his three starts while pitching to a 6.75 ERA. It seems Leiter will overtake that spot, at least for the time being. That all points to a rotation thatll include Lorenzen, Leiter, , and Wednesdays starter at least for the time being. Its not clear how long a leash Leiter will be given if he struggles out of the gate, though one would imagine the Rangers are planning to give him multiple starts following his initial call to the big leagues. Manager Bruce Bochy and/or general manager Chris Young will presumably expand on the teams plans for their young righty in the days to come. Leiters 2022-23 struggles were enough to drop him off prospect rankings, meaning hes ineligible for MLBs prospect promotion incentives. He wont accrue a full year of service time, given the lack of sufficient time remaining on the calendar, nor can he net the Rangers a draft pick based on his Rookie of the Year voting. As it stands, hell be controllable through the 2030 season and is set up on pace to reach Super Two status, granting him four trips through the arbitration proce s rather than the standard three. The first of those arb-eligible offseasons would come in the winter of 2026-27, though future optional a signments could yet impact both his free agent timeline and arbitration status. Dave Henderson Jersey