Why Rangers calling up Jack Leiter is so important, even if it’s just for one start

Maybe the most important thing to remember about Jack Leiter’s callup is the article.

Not this one.

This one: It’s a callup, but not necessarily the callup.

Leiter is coming to the big leagues Thursday to face Detroit in the most anticipated debut by a Texas Rangers pitching draft pick since, oh, probably David Clyde. Only 50 years ago. It’s a big deal. But the only similarity between Clyde’s debut and Leiter’s is that both were more about the team than the pitcher.

In the case of Clyde, the Rangers needed to draw some crowds to even be considered viable. So, they sacrificed the arm of the high schooler they’d drafted No. 1 overall a couple weeks earlier. With Leiter, it’s more about the care and feeding of the starting rotation and a real-time pitching lab for a precious arm inching ever-closer to being ready for the long haul.

In all likelihood, it’s a one-off start, a chance to give the rest of the rotation an extra day off in a long, early-season stretch without one on the schedule. If the Rangers get rained out on Wednesday — and the forecast isn’t great — he might spend the equivalent of a half day in the majors.

But, hey, there is always a chance. Cole Winn, the most recent first-rounder to debut (all of two days ago), debated whether to even pack an overnight bag for a trip to Houston, then retired all five batters he faced and, what do you know, on Thursday, he’ll be a crusty veteran on the pitching staff, relatively speaking.

The point is there is opportunity. Leiter, the second overall pick in 2021, has earned that much after a struggle with command and conviction. After being taken out of the Double-A Frisco rotation and placed on a development plan to get him back in the strike zone, he’s taken leaps with his fastball command. Finished last year at Round Rock. Hung around spring training until the end of camp. Had some support to break camp, too. Since returning from that development program, he’s struck out five hitters for every one he’s walked.

If he’s not ready, he’s close. And the exposure of a start in the big leagues may be the real-time laboratory he needs to guide himself to the finish-out.

It’s a start. Maybe not the start. But a start nonetheless.

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