MMN Top 40 Prospects: No. 25 Jack Leathersich

25. Jack Leathersich, LHP

Height: 5’11”

Weight: 205

DOB: 07/14/1990 (Age: 23)

Bats/Throws: Right/Left

Fastball: 60/60 Curveball: 50/55 Control: 40/50 Makeup: 50/55

Selected in the 5th round of the 2011 MLB Draft, Jack Leathersich quickly became one of my favorite pitchers in the Mets organization to keep track of. Most of you know the story by now — a hard-throwing lefty with great curveball and a rotation that baffles hitters. The result? A ridiculously high strikeout rate of 15.2 K/9 for his career — but a 5.0 BB/9 rate as well. When Leathersich can keep his walks down, he’s arguably the best reliever in the Mets organization.

His Jeckyll and Hyde performance last year in Double-A and Triple-A tell the story effectively…

Double-A: 29.1 IP/1.53 ERA (5 ER)/19 H/1 HR/16 BB/55 K

Triple-A: 29.0 IP/7.76 ERA (25 ER)/32 H/2 HR/29 BB/47 K

Obviously, he was hurt by the sheer amount of baserunners he allowed in Las Vegas — but I honestly think a lot of it had to do with the ball carrying more in the dry air and he tried to overcompensate by throwing too many strikes. He fell behind often and seemed to lose a little confidence, but there’s reason for hope with him. Of course, part of the issue was that he was facing more difficult competition as well. At the very least, he kept the ball in the park and struck out a more than healthy amount, so we’ll see which Leathersich we get next season.

Outlook: Leathersich has the makings of a dominant reliever in the MLB someday — and it doesn’t hurt that he’s a southpaw, of course. He’s allowed just six home runs in 143.0 MiLB innings and I fully expect him to work out his kinks in Triple-A next year. I don’t know if the Mets will let him break camp with the team after he was roughed up in Las Vegas last year, but I fully expect him to be on the MLB roster by the end of the year — even if it takes till September.