The Texas Rangers selected Vanderbilt pitcher Jack Leiter with the second overall pick in the Major League Baseball draft Sunday night.
Leiter, the son of former big leaguer Al Leiter, went 11-4 with a 2.13 ERA in 18 starts last season, helping the Commodores to a College World Series berth.
The right-hander struck out 179 and walked 45 in 110 innings pitched.
Leiter, 21, threw 16 2/3 consecutive no-hit innings in March, no-hitting South Carolina on March 20 and tossing seven hitless innings on March 26 at Missouri.
Get DFW local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC DFW newsletters.
This was the first pick made under Rangers first-year general manager Chris Young, a longtime big league pitcher who came to the organization determined to help the farm system better develop pitching.
The Pittsburgh Pirates held the first pick in the draft and picked Louisville catcher Henry Davis.
After the league slimmed the draft from 40 rounds to five last year in response to the coronavirus pandemic, this year's event will go 20 rounds spread over three days.
Sports Connection
Connecting you to your favorite North Texas sports teams as well as sports news around the globe.
The draft opened Sunday night with the first 36 selections on tap. Fans were allowed to watch the event in person for the first time, and a smattering of onlookers booed loudly when Manfred took the stage. Previous drafts were held at MLB Network's studio in Secaucus, New Jersey, which only had room for media and small groups of friends and family.
Click here to listen to the newest episode of Big Game Friday Morning.
