Jack Leiter made his second rehab start Thursday night with Double-A Frisco as he continues to work back from midseason ankle surgery.
The 26-year-old underwent an arthroscopic surgery to remove a loose body in his right ankle area on June 23. He had a 5.29 ERA in 15 starts this season before the surgery.
How did he perform?
Leiter struck out five across three-plus innings of work, surrendering five runs (four earned) on three hits and two walks. He threw 59 pitches, 38 of them for strikes.
Leiter was sharp in the first two innings before unraveling in the third, with an error opening the door for four Wichita runs. He issued a leadoff walk in the fourth before departing.
What’s next?
Leiter said there have not been discussions with him about continuing his buildup with the big league club, but there have been other internal discussions about bringing him back as a reliever for the final stretch. That is more unlikely now that Nathan Eovaldi has landed on the injured list due to elbow inflammation.
Regardless, he could still make another rehab start before a return depending on how his ankle recovers.
What are they saying?
“It’s good to get back out there and just be in an environment where there's another uniform and all that comes with that,” Leiter said Tuesday. “I was happy with the first one. To my knowledge, I’ll keep building. For me, it's just going with the plan that they provide. It’s pretty much one day at a time at this point. … Just taking it one day at a time and allowing the body to continue to heal and respond. There's a lot of factors that go into each day here.”
What else?
The Rangers were close to a fully healthy rotation with UCL rehabbers Cody Bradford and Jordan Montgomery coming off the injured list within days of each other, but Eovaldi’s elbow injury left the Rangers shorthanded once again.
Leiter’s eventual return -- whether to the bullpen or the rotation -- should strengthen the pitching staff as a whole down the final stretch.