Pittsburgh Pirates: Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter Dominate

The Pittsburgh Pirates are likely to draft one of the two Vanderbilt right-handed pitchers with the first overall pick.  The two Vandy Boys continue to pitch well in a battle that is getting interesting.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have the first overall pick in 2021 and it’s a good thing the Draft is not until July.  We’ve covered on RumBunter how Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker are likely going to be the first overall pick (with Jordan Lawlar, high school shortstop, being another option but seemingly less likely) and we’ve documented the battle the two pitchers are having this season in two previous installments.

This past weekend offered even less clarity for the Pirates, as both Rocker and Leiter came out hot against the number 16 ranked South Carolina Gamecocks.  After facing off against a top 15 opponent Oklahoma State the previous weekend, this matchup represented another opportunity against another top college baseball team, and one against a conference foe in what is a tough SEC.

In the first game on Friday, Rocker allowed two runs on three hits through eight innings.  He struck out 14 batters, only walked two, and got five ground outs to four flyouts.  For a pitcher who has had concerns over command and durability, Rocker is averaging 6.2 innings per start, has a 48/10 strikeout to walk rate, and has gone back-to-back starts against top 25 teams with eight innings and pretty good command.  Rocker’s ERA now stands at 0.58, and with him answering some of the concerns, perhaps he is taking the lead on the Leiter.

Leiter also came out and pitched well.  After struggling with command and efficiency against Oklahoma State, the right-hander almost threw a perfect game.  After walking the first batter of the game, Leiter struckout 16 batters and retired the next 27 in a no hitter.  The fastball looked sharp and generated swings and misses.  He got eight flyouts and three groundouts in this start, but the command looked better, however the breaking balls might have lagged behind.  It was a really impressive outing.

Overall, Rocker and Leiter pitched really well once again this weekend, as it makes it even more of a competition for the first overall pick.  Rocker has continued to show he can pitch into games and Leiter threw a no hitter despite his fastball being really his main pitch in the outing.  One negative would be the volume of pitching, with Rocker throwing 116 and Leiter 124.  But both pitchers appear to have front line stuff and the battle continues to be a good one.