When you think about Jack Leiter’s previous four starts in the big leagues, not a ton of good things come to mind.

Entering play tonight, Leiter had an ERA of 12.83 in 13.1 innings pitched with the Rangers this season.

Monday night, Leiter faced his biggest challenge yet, in the form of the New York Yankees who rank as the best-hitting team against right-handed starters.

However, even with the numbers stacked against him, Jack Leiter threw his best start of the season in the Rangers 8-4 loss to New York at Globe Life Field.

Leiter threw a career-high five innings allowing five runs on seven hits while striking out two. It’s safe to say Leiter’s night was a lot better than his line showed as three of his five earned runs were scored off Chase Anderson.

“I thought Jack was pretty good,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said after the game. “In the 6th there he just got behind, he started that inning with a dribbler, he had some bad luck there but overall I thought it was a good outing for him”.

At one point Leiter was able to retire eight straight Yankees before the sixth inning blew up on him.

Not only did the sixth get away from Leiter but that’s where the game got away from the Rangers as the Yankees scored five runs to put this one away.

In a season like the one that the Rangers are having in 2024, wins in the win column aren’t always there but to see what Texas saw from Jack Leiter tonight has to be a “mini win” from an organizational standpoint.

As for 2024, don’t expect Jack Leiter to go anywhere, it’s been made clear that the Rangers are looking to get him some run in the big league as the season winds down.

“Like any player, the more time you get up here the more comfortable you get, you relax and learn the hitters,” Bochy said.”It’s always good to have some runway instead of a start here or there so I wasn’t surprised that he [Leiter] threw the ball a lot better tonight.

Getting Jack Leiter starts every fifth or sixth day is something that is going to be important for the Rangers moving forward in 2024.

If Leiter looks anything like we saw tonight, things could be looking up for the once highly touted prospect.