New Jersey’s own Jack Leiter is among college baseball’s best

The baseball player some people believe will be the number one pick in the Major League draft this year is from New Jersey! Jack Leiter, the son of former Yankee and Met Al Leiter, has been making headlines pitching for Vanderbilt in college ball. The younger Leiter is a native of Summit and attended (and played for) the Delbarton School in Morristown.

The 20-year-old sophomore garnered national attention earlier this month when he threw a no-hitter in his Southeastern Conference debut against the University of South Carolina, striking out 16 batters.

He followed that up with seven innings of no-hit ball against the University of Missouri before he reached his pitch count and was taken out of the game. Leiter is 6-0 with a 0.25 ERA, 59 strikeouts and 13 walks in six starts (36 innings) this season. He has allowed just one earned run and seven hits.

According to ESPN’s rankings, Leiter is the #2 prospect for this year’s draft, behind a high school player, Jordan Lawler, and just ahead of his Vanderbilt teammate, Kumar Rocker, himself a son of a former pro athlete, NFL lineman Tracy Rocker. CBS Sports ranks Leiter at #1 now. Leiter was drafted once already, in the 20th round by the Yankees after his high school career, but enrolled at Vanderbilt instead. The MLB draft will be held in July.

Jack’s father, Al, from Bayville, pitched in the big leagues for 19 seasons, including stints with both the Yankees and the Mets; he threw a no-hitter for the Marlins, as well. Al’s brother, Mark, also pitched in the big leagues.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle. Any opinions expressed are Bill Doyle's own.