Jack Leftwich Impresses In Sarasota, Looks Forward To Time With Gators

SARASOTA, Fla.—The Wilson Premier Classic, the newest elite tournament on the travel ball calendar, began Thursday with a short slate of games at the Orioles’ spring training complex. The event hit its stride Friday with 38 teams in action.

Even on a day full of games, one of Friday’s biggest stars didn’t take the diamond until the evening. The wait, however, was worthwhile. Florida prep righthander Jack Leftwich was dominant for the Orlando Scorpions in their game against Team Elite Prime, helping lead the Scorpions to a 3-1 victory.

Leftwich, a Florida commit, threw four hitless innings, struck out four batters and walked none in one of the day’s best matchups. His sinking fastball sat 88-91 mph, and he commanded the pitch well. He mixed in his changeup and slider effectively, keeping the Team Elite hitters off balance.

“I felt good,” Leftwich said. “I had command of pretty much every pitch, so that was good.”

Leftwich is listed at 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, and he uses his size to throw from a downhill angle, leading to more ground ball outs. His changeup was his most consistent secondary pitch Friday and, as his outing continued, he was able to get a better feel for his slider.

Coach Brian Martinez said the refinement of Leftwich’s slider and fastball command have been crucial to his development.

“His breaking pitches are starting to get a little sharper and he’s able to command the fastball in two-strike counts,” Martinez said. “Back in the day, it was hard for him to compete at that point. Now he’s getting to the point where he’s able to blow it by people and induce ground balls.”

Leftwich has flashed better velocity than he showed Friday, and doing that more consistently is one of the next steps of his development. Martinez said Leftwich is still growing into his body, and has more room for improvement.

“He’s just getting more physical,” Martinez said. “Obviously, the maturity is coming, he’s getting older and he’s learning how to control the fastball and be able to break off a spinner when he needs to. The changeup is coming along, but the maturity and strength is exponential.”

Leftwich is excited for the opportunity to learn from Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan and continue his development in Gainesville, which is only a couple hours away from his home in Maitland, Fla.

“Coach O’Sullivan is one of the best pitching coaches in the country and they’re known for developing big righties,” Leftwich said. “So that’s just where I wanted to go.”

The Gators’ rotation was fronted for the last three years by Logan Shore, another physical righthander. Shore was named the Southeastern Conference pitcher of the year this spring and was drafted 47th overall in June. He, like Leftwich, relies on his fastball-changeup combination, a fact not overlooked by Leftwich.

“He’s a sinker and changeup guy, and I throw those, so I really try to work on that,” Leftwich said. “He’s a guy I look up to.”

Leftwich still has a lot of work to do, but his raw tools give him a chance to develop into a starter in time. For now, however, he is happy for the chance to be playing with the Scorpions again following a break in their schedule of a couple months.

“It’s great because I just missed all these guys,” he said. “It’s just fun getting back with the team.”