It was about 40 degrees Tuesday night in Portland, Maine, with rain falling and wind whipping in off the Atlantic, for good measure.
But left-handed reliever Jack Leathersich looked at home in the chilly conditions on the mound for Binghamton, the Mets’ Double-A affiliate, and in truth he wasn’t far.
The native of Beverly, Mass., a rare New Englander in ranks full of prospects from warmer climes, kept his April ledger scoreless, striking out three in 2 1/3 innings to bring his totals to 15 Ks in 10 innings on the season and 154 in 94 2/3 combined minor innings across four levels.
“He’s got a live, left-handed arm with late life on the fastball — there seems to be some deception to it — and a quality curveball,” said Portland pitching coach Bob Kipper.
Though Leathersich is listed at just 5-foot-11, the 205-pounder runs his heater up to 95 mph and sits routinely at 91-92.
“He has a high three-quarters [arm] slot, and he creates angle — that’s a really important quality,” said Kipper, a lefty with eight years of big-league experience, mainly as a reliever. “He’s got a chance to pitch in the big leagues.”
That outlook is part of a rapid rise from overlooked roots in the Boston area by Leathersich, 22, the Mets’ fifth-round draft pick in 2011 out of Division II UMass-Lowell. A stint in the prestigious wood-bat Cape Cod summer league before Leathersich’s final, junior season was “critical” in his development, according to Art Pontarelli, the area scout who signed him for the Mets.
“He realized he doesn’t have to take a back seat to any of the D-I guys,” Pontarelli said.
Pontarelli brought J.P. Ricciardi, special assistant to Mets GM Sandy Alderson and a Massachusetts native himself, to see Leathersich, which helped seal the pick.
“You liked the makeup,” Pontarelli said. “The thing in my opinion that [indicates] he’ll be a big leaguer is he has no fear. … He thinks he’s better than the hitter.”
On Leathersich’s to-do list is reducing his walk rate (5.0 per nine innings over High-A and Double-A) and deploying the changeup that was his third pitch as a college starter as a bullpen weapon against righties. But the southpaw already has come a long way in converting frosty skeptics.
“We have players in the Northeast who are as good, we just don’t have as many,” Pontarelli said.
The Mets’ staff already has a Connecticut kid in ace Matt Harvey (ever heard of him?). Their find from Massachusetts, Jack Leathersich, may not be too far behind.