Tag: Jack Leiter

Behind-plate video shows how terrifying Jack Leiter’s 98 mph fastball really looks

Oh my…

When it comes to high-level or professional sports, there are so many terrifying scenarios out there: trying to tackle a human with the quickness and size of Derrick Henry. There’s throwing one’s body in front of a 100 mph slap shot. It’s all crazy.

But it’s truly difficult to comprehend just how difficult it is to stand in a batter’s box and face near-100 mph heat without seeing it from behind the plate. The broadcast footage really doesn’t do it justice.

That’s why new behind-the-plate video from Vanderbilt ace Jack Leiter’s high-and-tight 98 mph fastball is helpful … and truly nerve-racking to watch. Watch this and ask yourself if you’d ever be willing to face that kind of pitching.

Oh, no way. NOPE.

This video came from Saturday’s Super Regional game between Vanderbilt and East Carolina, which saw Leiter go seven innings of two-hit ball along with 10 strikeouts. Vanderbilt reached the College World Series with the 4-1 win.

Leiter is projected to be the top pick in the upcoming MLB draft, and it’s easy to see why. His stuff is electric and, well, scary.

https://youtu.be/pzN93qXVXBc

Top prospect Jack Leiter pitched a brilliant no-hitter and looked exactly like his father Al

Like father, SO MUCH like son.

Jack Leiter is a top prospect for the upcoming Major League Baseball draft, which is easily the biggest crapshoot of any draft — by a lot.

Still, Leiter sure seems to have all the right stuff to make it to the bigs. The right-handed sophomore tossed a 16-strike-out no-hitter on Saturday in Vanderbilts’ 5-0 win over South Carolina. It would have been a perfect game had he not walked the lead-off hitter.

Leiter is a fun pitcher to watch. His fastball isn’t overpowering but has movement, and he has a biting curveball.

Also, if you happen to remember watching his father Al Leiter pitch, you’ll never, ever get over the similarities in their deliveries:

Striking.

Al Leiter pitched nearly two decades in the majors, winning three World Series (1992 and ’93 with the Blue Jays, ’97 with the Marlins when he started Game 7), before working in television. He joined the Mets as a baseball operations advisor in 2019.