One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .438 expected average against them, against .314 on his fastballs.
212 of his breaking balls thrown.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Leiter's 4-seam fastball carries 17.4 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
334 thrown, averaging 96.8 mph.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Leiter's slider leaves the bat at 93.6 mph, against 83.4 off his cutter.
149 and 85 of them thrown.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Leiter's 4-seam fastball averages 96.8 mph, and has touched 99.4.
334 thrown, 39.4% of his pitches.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Leiter throws a fastball 62.9% of the time, against 47% when he is ahead.
237 pitches behind in the count, 234 ahead.
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Leiter averages 92.2 mph across his arsenal, 81st percentile in the league.
847 pitches in 2026. 81st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 101st in MLB.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Leiter's sinker moves 14.6 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
59 thrown, averaging 96.0 mph.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
14.9 mph separates Leiter's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 96.8 against 81.9.
334 and 63 of them respectively.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Leiter goes to the changeup: 24.6% of his two-strike pitches, against 16.1% the rest of the time.
244 two-strike pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Leiter's curveball spins at 2,753 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
63 thrown in 2026.
He lives on one side of the plate
Leiter works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.2 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
847 located pitches in 2026.
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Leiter's fastball averages 96.3 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 95.6 past his 75th.
141 early fastballs, 99 late ones.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Leiter projects a .355 average, 25th percentile.
847 pitches in 2026. 25th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 405th in MLB.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Leiter works with 6 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Changeup, Slider and Cutter, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 39.4% of everything he throws.
847 classified pitches in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Leiter puts 58.6% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 47% when he is ahead.
237 located pitches behind, 234 ahead.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Leiter releases the ball 6.6 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
651 tracked pitches in 2026.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Leiter lands 47.3% of his fastballs in the zone and only 38.2% of his offspeed pitches.
478 of his fastballs, 157 of his offspeed pitches.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
43% of the contact Leiter gives up is hit hard, 34th percentile.
847 pitches in 2026. 34th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 357th in MLB.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Leiter throws a strike on the first pitch 57.5% of the time.
214 plate appearances started in 2026.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Leiter throws the sinker 13.7% of the time against right-handers and 0.7% against left-handers.
409 pitches to right-handers, 438 to left-handers.
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Leiter's stuff spins at 2,332 rpm, 62nd percentile in the league.
847 pitches in 2026. 62nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 202nd in MLB.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Leiter is weak: 87.7 mph off the bat on average, 61st percentile.
847 pitches in 2026. 61st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 211th in MLB.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .438 expected average against them, against .314 on his fastballs.
212 of his breaking balls thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Leiter lands 47.3% of his fastballs in the zone and only 38.2% of his offspeed pitches.
478 of his fastballs, 157 of his offspeed pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Leiter's 4-seam fastball carries 17.4 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
334 thrown, averaging 96.8 mph.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Leiter's sinker moves 14.6 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
59 thrown, averaging 96.0 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Leiter's slider leaves the bat at 93.6 mph, against 83.4 off his cutter.
149 and 85 of them thrown.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Leiter's 4-seam fastball averages 96.8 mph, and has touched 99.4.
334 thrown, 39.4% of his pitches.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
14.9 mph separates Leiter's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 96.8 against 81.9.
334 and 63 of them respectively.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Leiter's curveball spins at 2,753 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
63 thrown in 2026.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Leiter works with 6 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Changeup, Slider and Cutter, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 39.4% of everything he throws.
847 classified pitches in 2026.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Leiter throws the sinker 13.7% of the time against right-handers and 0.7% against left-handers.
409 pitches to right-handers, 438 to left-handers.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Leiter throws a fastball 62.9% of the time, against 47% when he is ahead.
237 pitches behind in the count, 234 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Leiter goes to the changeup: 24.6% of his two-strike pitches, against 16.1% the rest of the time.
244 two-strike pitches in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Leiter puts 58.6% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 47% when he is ahead.
237 located pitches behind, 234 ahead.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Leiter throws a strike on the first pitch 57.5% of the time.
214 plate appearances started in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Leiter averages 92.2 mph across his arsenal, 81st percentile in the league.
847 pitches in 2026. 81st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 101st in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He lives on one side of the plate
Leiter works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.2 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
847 located pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Leiter's fastball averages 96.3 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 95.6 past his 75th.
141 early fastballs, 99 late ones.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Leiter releases the ball 6.6 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
651 tracked pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Leiter projects a .355 average, 25th percentile.
847 pitches in 2026. 25th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 405th in MLB.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
43% of the contact Leiter gives up is hit hard, 34th percentile.
847 pitches in 2026. 34th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 357th in MLB.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Leiter is weak: 87.7 mph off the bat on average, 61st percentile.
847 pitches in 2026. 61st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 211th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Leiter's stuff spins at 2,332 rpm, 62nd percentile in the league.
847 pitches in 2026. 62nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 202nd in MLB.
Rangers
Career team 2024–2026