It sounds like Jack Leiter will have no qualms with falling to No. 4 in the draft.
The Vanderbilt hurler is the most exciting pitching prospect in the MLB amateur draft later this month. But with no consensus No. 1 overall pick this year, it’s quite possible one of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Texas Rangers or Detroit Tigers takes the pitcher.
If he falls to No. 4 though — which reportedly is increasingly likely — the Boston Red Sox very well might pull the trigger and pick him up.
According to The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham, citing multiple sources, Leiter would be fine with that.
“Several sources have said Vanderbilt right-hander Jack Leiter very much wants to play for the Red Sox,” Abraham wrote in his weekly notes column.
That is a huge development for the Red Sox if true. Part of teams potential trepidation around Leiter is that he is a sophomore and theoretically could return to Vanderbilt for his junior season. It would be a complete gut-punch for a team to pick him high, only for him to not sign. That he supposedly is outward enough about his desire to play for Boston that word is getting around, then it should provide the Red Sox with some peace of mind that he’ll sign if they pick him.
Leiter went 10-4 with a 2.08 ERA in the regular season for the Commodores across 17 starts. He averaged 14.8 strikeouts, 3.6 walks and 1.1 homers per nine innings.
