Mets Pick – Round 5: - Jack Leathersich LHP

2009: Highly-regarded sophomore pitcher Jack Leathersich (Beverly, MA) will join the Orleans Firebirds in the upcoming 2010 Cape Cod Baseball League season. Leathersich will become one of only six players in program history to compete in the CCBL, including former 12-year MLB veteran Mike LaValliere. A famed amateur summer league, the CCBL produced 234 selections in the 2009 MLB Draft and countless major league stars such as the reigning two-time National League Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum and World Series Champion Mark Teixeira. Leathersich enters the 2010 River Hawk baseball season on the heels of a star-studded freshman campaign. The Beverly native was named Northeast-10 Freshman of the Year and a NEIBA All-Star. Leathersich followed with a fantastic summer league stint where he was named the top prospect in the Valley Baseball League by PG Cross Checker. Leathersich and the rest of the River Hawks will return to action on Feb. 27, when they open their 2010 schedule with a double-header against 2009 NCAA Division II East Regional Championship runner-up Dominican in Petersburg, VA. - http://www.goriverhawks.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/120309aad.html



2010: - Once Leathersich arrived in Orleans, teammates started calling him "Rocket" for his hard-throwing ways. The lefty didn't have much trouble getting outs either against powerful hitters from more traditional baseball factories like North Carolina, Texas and Rice. Pitching out of the bullpen, Leathersich amassed a 1.71 earned run average while allowing just 14 hits and nine walks in 21 innings. Even more impressive were his strikeout numbers — the power lefty fanned 31 for an average of 13 K's per nine innings. With anywhere from 30-40 Major League scouts at every Cape League game, there's no doubt Leathersich's stock soared faster than Apple's when the iPad launched. Word is the Beverly native should be chosen in the top 10 rounds next spring. - http://www.salemnews.com/sports/x1804459387/Rocket-Launched-Leathersich-enjoys-summer-in-Cape-Cod-League



Harring, who is in his seventh season as UMass-Lowell’s head coach, said dealing with adversity is something Leathersich needed to experience, and something that will help him in the long run. “We had him throwing as high as 95 (mph) in the fall, but I told him guys who can throw that hard are a dime a dozen at the next level,” Harring said. “I think he was pitching to the radar gun, not to the catcher’s mitt. Everybody struggles at some point, and you have to deal with that adversity. In the end, it will be something that benefits him.” Leatherisch, who throws left-handed, said he had straightened things out by the end of the season. He certainly seemed to be his old self by the time he joined the Cape Cod Baseball League’s Orleans Firebirds last summer. Used primarily in a setup role by Orleans, Leathersich posted a 1.71 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 21 innings. Opponents hit .209 against him - http://www.baseballjournal.com/news/2011/03/16_umass-lowell_ace_aims_to_regain.php