We are down to just two Valley Leaguers left on mlb.com’s prospect lists- the second-to-last being Jack Leathersich, a member of the Haymarket Senator’s championship team of 2009.
Jack was named the Mets’ #20 prospect, which is not surprising given his results over the last couple years. Including his 10 strikeouts in only 5 innings so far in 2015, Jack has struck out an incredible 344 hitters in 202 1/3 innings pitched in his minor league career. Missing that many bats usually indicates a major league career down the road, and I would hypothesize that Jack’s career will be no different. (My guess is that he will be called up this season at some point to join Adam Liberatore.)
This is what mlb.com had to say about Jack:
Though Leathersich was a starter at Division II UMass-Lowell, the Mets sent him straight to the bullpen after drafting him in 2011 and he hasn’t looked back since, now on the brink of helping out the big league bullpen.
Leathersich misses a lot of bats, with an eye-popping 15.2 career strikeout-per-nine ratio heading into the 2015 season. While he only hits the low 90s with his fastball, hitters can’t pick the pitch because Leathersich throws it with a lot of deception. He has a good hard curve and will even mix in a changeup to keep left-handed hitters honest. Leathersich’s worst enemy has been his command and he made strides in that regard in 2014, doing a better job of keeping the ball down in the zone. More advanced hitters laid off of his stuff out of the strike zone, something he’ll need to improve to have lasting success in the big leagues.
While Leathersich clearly could be used to get left-handers out, his ability to miss bats of any kind could lead to a larger bullpen role if he can continue to harness his command.
Along with his 10 strikeouts so far in 2015, Jack hasn’t walked a single batter. Perhaps his control is starting to come around.
Congratulations, Jack, and keep collecting those strikeouts!
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