The Pittsburgh Pirates have claimed 27-year-old left-handed relief pitcher Jack Leathersich off waivers from the Chicago Cubs. The Pirates already had an open spot on their 40-man roster, so no additional move needs to be made. Leathersich has been assigned to Indianapolis.
Leathersich has pitched parts of two seasons in the majors, 2015 with the New York Mets and 2017 for the Cubs. He had a 2.31 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 11.2 innings over 17 appearances with the Mets. He pitched once for the Cubs back on July 6th and allowed two runs, while recording just two outs. That was his only appearance in the majors this season. He has made just one career start in seven seasons of pro ball.
Playing in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League for Iowa, which isn’t as bad for pitchers as most of the west coast teams in the league, Leathersich has a 2.84 ERA in 44.1 innings over 41 appearances, while striking out 72 batters. He has a 1.20 WHIP, a .167 BAA and a low 0.69 GO/AO ratio. Those numbers are in line with his career stats, where he has had a high strikeout rate, slightly high walk rate and a low ground ball rate.
Leathersich has one option remaining after this season, so he is a player who could still around next year as Triple-A depth. He missed the end of 2015 and start of 2016 due to Tommy John surgery, so this is his first full year back.
