8/18/11

The Keepers: - #35 - SP - Jack Leathersich

35. LHP Jack Leathersich:



The Mets signed their 5th round pick on Sunday, 5-11 LHP Jack Leathersich.


He burst on to the national radar in 2009 with a masterful freshman year as a member of the University of Massachusetts Lowell Riverhawks, going 7-4 with a 2.18 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 70.1 innings pitched. His stellar season earned him Northeast-10 Freshman of the Year honors for 2009. In 2010, Leathersich had a bit of a sophomore slump, compiling a 4.26 ERA to go along with a 3-2 record, but still struck out 62 batters in 57.0 innings pitched. He finished up 2010 by pitching in the Cape Cod League for the Orleans Firebirds. As a member of the bullpen, he put together a 1.71 ERA, striking out 31 in just 21.0 innings. Prior to the 2011 season, Leathersich was named the third-best Division II draft prospect, as well as a pre-season All American. I sat down with Leathersich recently and got the chance to ask him how he has made himself into the pitcher he is today and what the future may hold for him. - http://www.goriverhawks.com/  


http://www.baseballamerica.com/  : - UMass-Lowell's Jack Leathersich has been in the Riverhawks rotation since his freshman year, but he's best suited to pitch out of the bullpen, which is where he had success in the Cape Cod League last summer. An arm-strength lefty, Leathersich struck out 31 batters in 21 innings of relief for Orleans, running his fastball up to 95 mph, while he works at 88-92 as a starter. He shows two fringe-average breaking balls, a slurve and a curveball, but he slows everything down in his delivery on secondary offerings. Scouts have concerns about Leathersich's mechanics, as he throws across his body with recoil and often loses his arm slot. Some talked him up as a potential top-five-rounds selection, but he'll probably be taken in the eighth- to 12th-round range.


From - http://www.minorleagueball.com/2011/6/14/2222649/2011-mlb-draft-new-york-mets-review#storyjump  - 5) Jack Leathersich, LHP, UMass-Lowell: Terrific numbers, hits 95 in short stints, but rough mechanics and problems with breaking ball likely limit him to bullpen work, though he could be overpowering in that role. 1.62 ERA, 126/27 K/BB in 89 IP.


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  


7-7-11: - Jack twittered late yesterday afternoon that he would be making his prop debut today, for Brooklyn. 5th rounder… 5-11, 205, LHP out of UMass-Lowell. Had a wonderful freshman season that got him Freshman Of The Year… fastball sits 89-91… two average breaking balls, a sluve and a curve. Scouts were concerned with mechanics… Last year: 89 IP, 55 H, 27 BB, 126 K, 0 HR, 6-2, 1.62 ERA, .175 BAA


8-18-11: - Stock Up – RP Jack Leathersich – Leather pitched 1.2 last night and only had four strikeouts. Poor baby. Seriously, that’s seven relief outings so far this season, for 8.2 innings, and he has 20 strikeouts. Let’s see… 8.2-IP is… 26 outs, 20 of which are whiff. That’s a 58.8-K/PA and a BABIP of .455. Really.

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