Jack Leftwich Stats & Scouting Report

IP	59.1
ERA	4.25
WHIP	1.25
BB/9	3.49
SO/9	10.31

Full name Jack Harrison Leftwich
Born 09/26/1998 in Cedar Rapids, IA
Profile Ht.: 6'4" / Wt.: 220 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Florida
Drafted in the 7th round (216th overall) by the Cleveland Guardians in 2021 (signed for $167,000).

View Draft Report

Leftwich was draft-eligible in the 2020 class, when he ranked as the No. 157 player in the BA 500, but he went unselected and returned to Florida for his fourth season, where he posted a 3.36 ERA over 69.2 innings, with 78 strikeouts (10.1 K/9) and 22 walks (2.8 BB/9). Leftwich stepped into a full-time starting role for the Gators in 2019 and seemed poised to keep that role this spring but made just six starts and 18 separate appearances out of the bullpen. At 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, Leftwich has a solid pitcher’s frame and a three-pitch mix including a fastball that sits in the 92-94 mph range but has been into the upper 90s at its best, as well as a slider and changeup. The slider is Leftwich’s go-to secondary in the low 80s and will flash average potential, but scouts note that it comes in well below-average at times as well. He throws a low-to-mid-80s changeup but has used it only sparingly this spring, perhaps because of a larger role out of the bullpen. Leftwich does have solid control, so some teams might still like him as a starter, but there’s also concern from teams about how he locks out his front knee in his landing.

Top Rankings

Draft Prospects

Leftwich was draft-eligible in the 2020 class, when he ranked as the No. 157 player in the BA 500, but he went unselected and returned to Florida for his fourth season, where he posted a 3.36 ERA over 69.2 innings, with 78 strikeouts (10.1 K/9) and 22 walks (2.8 BB/9). Leftwich stepped into a full-time starting role for the Gators in 2019 and seemed poised to keep that role this spring but made just six starts and 18 separate appearances out of the bullpen. At 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, Leftwich has a solid pitcher’s frame and a three-pitch mix including a fastball that sits in the 92-94 mph range but has been into the upper 90s at its best, as well as a slider and changeup. The slider is Leftwich’s go-to secondary in the low 80s and will flash average potential, but scouts note that it comes in well below-average at times as well. He throws a low-to-mid-80s changeup but has used it only sparingly this spring, perhaps because of a larger role out of the bullpen. Leftwich does have solid control, so some teams might still like him as a starter, but there’s also concern from teams about how he locks out his front knee in his landing.
Leftwich is a big, physical righthander with plenty of pure stuff, but he hadn’t yet found the SEC results that scouts had expected of him entering the 2020 season. As a freshman in a split role as a reliever and starter, Leftwich posted a 4.20 ERA with solid strikeout-to-walk numbers, but his ERA blossomed to 5.31 in 2019 as a full-time starter. That mark was 4.15 through four starts in 2020 before SEC play got started, with 23 strikeouts to eight walks in 21.2 innings of work. Leftwich has a power arm with a fastball that gets up to 95-96 mph, but it doesn’t have much life, and because of that hitters have been able to square it up. He’ll pitch backwards at times with a slider that improved over the summer and a solid-average changeup, but some scouts would like to see him add a two-seam fastball to allow him to attack early with velocity. Standing at 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, Leftwich has a starter’s frame and is a good strike thrower, but his stuff portends more of a back-of-the-rotation arm. Leftwich missed time as a sophomore due to blisters. He also locks out his front knee in his landing, which has created audible clicking sounds that have mystified and concerned some evaluators, though to this point it hasn’t been an issue.
Tall and strong righthanders committed to Florida usually become more significant prospects when they get to Gainesville, and many scouts see that happening in the case of Leftwich. He has a sturdy 6-foot-4, broad-shouldered build. Leftwich has a loose, athletic lower half and a fast arm. He has a full arm action with a high back elbow and a slight head jerk after his arm finishes across his body. Leftwich already flashes a plus fastball, reaching as high as 96 mph this spring. His slider flashes average with hard sweep in the low 80s. Leftwich has shown feel for his changeup at times, but he'll need more reps for it to become more consistent. He has the potential to be an early contributor for the Gators and is not expected to be easy to sign out of high school.