Last season, Texas Rangers starter Jack Leiter showed glimpses of being the pitcher the club drafted with the No. 2 overall selection in the 2021 MLB draft.

Leiter broke camp with the big-league club for the first time in his major-league career and remained with the team for the entire season, going 10-10 with a 3.86 ERA in 151.2 innings pitched.

This season, Leiter will look to take a step forward and prove himself as an elite arm behind Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, and MacKenzie Gore in the Rangers' rotation.

On Monday afternoon, we got our first look at Leiter in a game this season as he made his Spring Training debut in the Rangers' 6-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels.

Leiter put forth a strong showing, throwing a pair of shutout innings, allowing just two hits and one walk against an Angels lineup that featured a lot of its regulars.

“I felt good,” Leiter said after his outing. “It’s always interesting during the first Spring Training outing because you’ve thrown lives and I’ve been throwing bullpens since the end of December, but that first time facing different uniforms and the adrenaline kinda finally kicks up, you don’t necessarily know what you’re gonna feel, and it felt good so I feel good about that."

Leiter began his outing allowing a leadoff double to Zach Neto, but was able to strand him on third mixed in with a walk to Jorge Soler.

In the second, Leiter allowed a leadoff single to Joe Adell, but then got Logan O’Hoppe to fly out to center field and forced Christian Moore to ground into a double play, ending his strong Spring Training opener.

Behind Leiter, Rangers reliever regulars Robert Garcia and Cole Winn each threw scoreless innings in the third and fourth, respectively.

Offensively, it was new Rangers catcher Danny Jansen who provided the big swing of the afternoon as he blasted a two-run home run in the first inning to score Sam Haggerty and gave Texas their first home run of the Spring.

Haggerty had another strong game, providing a hit, a walk, and a run scored as he looks to make the team as the club’s best utility man.

With the win, the Rangers improve to 3-1 on the spring and will take on the Arizona Diamondbacks at Surprise Staduim.

Jacob Latz will make his spring debut as he battles for the fifth and final spot in the Rangers' rotation.

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