The Mets drafted LHP Jack Leathersich in the fifth round of the 2011 draft. But at that point, all they knew was they were getting a strikeout artist and raw talent at the time of the selection.
Since making his professional debut in 2011 with the Brooklyn Cyclones, Leathersich has racked up strikeout numbers which could only be classified as unworldly. In that first season, he struck out 26 batters in only 12 2/3 innings. The next year, he struck out 113 batters in only 72 innings combined between Single-A Savannah and Single-A St. Lucie.
That trend continued in 2013 when he struck out 102 batters in only 58 1/3 innings between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Las Vegas. And last year between the same two affiliates, it was more of the same: 93 strikeouts in 54 1/3 innings.
All of those numbers combined were good for a 15.3 strikeouts/per nine innings rate during his minor league career. That’s not just good, that’s uniquely good.
So, why did it take so long for Leathersich to get to the big leagues?
Well, it’s rather simple. He’s walked 4.8 batters per nine innings over the same span and hit 20 batters in 204 minor league innings. And it got worse at Triple-A.
He walked batters to a tune of 7.7 per nine innings and had a 7.23 ERA at Triple-A Las Vegas between 2013 and 2014 with a walk rate of 8.68 per nine innings over that span.
Something had to change, and Leathersich knew it.
“I figured out that what I was doing in the past wasn’t working,” Leathersich told Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal. “It worked in Double-A and the lower levels, but then it didn’t work in Triple-A. So I had to make an adjustment. “
Leathersich came to Spring Training this year having recently been added to the 40-man roster to avoid Rule 5 eligibility in December. But because of his control problems, the odds were long he would make the team on Opening Day despite more and more needs arising from the left side of the bullpen during camp.
Nevertheless, Leathersich aimed to solve his control problems, and worked closely with former LHP John Franco on refining his two-seam fastball as well as some mechanical adjustments.
Then, he spent some time with injured Mets reliever Bobby Parnell, who also suffered command problems early in his career.
“It’s not mechanics. It’s not any of that,” Leathersich said of his discussions with Parnell. “I’m just more focused day in and day out about every throw counts. It’s made it a lot easier on the mound to throw strikes.”
Leathersich was optioned to the minor leagues well before the team broke camp. But Leathersich took his teachings with him, and all of a sudden things began to click with him on the mound.
In seven innings for Las Vegas this season, Leathersich struck out 13, and issued only one walk. That progress earned him a promotion to the big leagues on Tuesday. He joins Daniel Muno and Kevin Plawecki as the third draft pick during the Sandy Alderson era to graduate to the big leagues and reach the Mets – all of those graduations have come in April.
“If he’s throwing strikes, he’ll get outs here,” Terry Collins explained on Wednesday.
Leathersich’s stuff doesn’t stand out in particular. He throws hard, but not very hard. He has a good 12-6 curveball as well, but again certainly nothing like what Barry Zito threw in his prime for instance. It’s his delivery and ability to hide the ball until its out of his hand which makes him so deceptive, and give the appearance he’s throwing harder than he actually is.
But because of his stuff not being particularly overwhelming, it’s possible he might miss fewer bats as he begins to throw more strikes. But so far, that has not been the case for him.
And, if his strikeout trends continue and his walk rate continues to improve, he may never go back to Las Vegas…
Just Mets 