BERKELEY – There’s a Leiter Lineage in professional baseball.
There’s former Central Regional High School fastballer Al Leiter.
The lefty pitched on the Toronto Blue Jays’ World Series championship teams in 1992 and 1993 and helped the Florida Marlins win the Fall Classic in 1997. The two-time All-Star tossed a no-hitter for the Marlins on the Saturday night of Mother’s Day weekend. How fitting as Leiter was close to his mom, Marie.
The owner of a 162-132 career record and a 3.80 earned run average. Leiter also pitched for the New York Yankees and the New York Mets and earned the Roberto Clemente Award in 2000 for his extensive humanitarian work. He was a major leaguer from 1987-2005.
The New York Mets Hall of Fame member signed for a $100,000 bonus with the Yankees in 1984 after being selected in the second round (50th overall) out of Central. Now a commentator on the MLB Network, he blazed his way to 32 strikeouts in a 13-inning game called because of rain against Wall Township.
There’s Mark Leiter Sr., a brother of Al Leiter.
The 1981 Central graduate posted a 65-73 record and a 4.57 ERA, pitching for the Yankees, the Detroit Tigers, the California Angels, the San Francisco Giants, the Montreal Expos, the Philadelphia Phillies, Seattle Mariners and the Milwaukee Brewers from 1990-2001. The righty was selected in the fourth round by the Baltimore Orioles in 1983. He played for Connors State College and Ramapo College.
There’s Mark Leiter Jr.
The former Toms River North standout, now a Yankees reliever, has also pitched for the Phillies, the Blue Jays and the Chicago Cubs. The Phillies called the righty’s name in the 22nd round (661st overall) in 2013 out of the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He’s a 2009 North graduate. Leiter Jr. wears his dad’s No. 56 jersey on the mound.
There’s Jack Leiter, whose dad is Al Leiter.
The 2019 Delbarton School graduate pitches for the Texas Rangers after accepting a $7,922.000 signing bonus. The righty was drafted second in the first round by the American League team in 2021 out of Vanderbilt University. He was a teammate of Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe at Delbarton.
There’s Kurt Leiter, a brother of Al Leiter and Mark Leiter Sr.
The 1979 Central graduate made it to Double-A (two steps below the major leagues) in the Baltimore Orioles’ system. An undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma State University, the righty was 17-36 with a 4.32 ERA as a minor leaguer from 1982-1986.
Al Leiter, Mark Leiter Sr. and Kurt Leiter played under legendary head coach Al Kunzman at Central. Kurt and Al Leiter are Mark Leiter Jr’s uncles. Mark Leiter Jr. played under head coach Ted Schelmay at North.
The latest member of the Leiter Lineage is Cam Leiter, a former Central, University of Central Florida and Florida State University pitcher and a son of Kurt Leiter. The Los Angeles Dodgers called his name in the second round (65th overall) earlier this year. The righty, the round’s final selection, signed a bonus for $1,349,100 after his junior season at Florida State. He’s the first Florida State player in program history to sign for the full slot value of the pick.
Minor leaguers typically earn a starting salary of $700 per week. The Dodgers will fund his senior year of college as long as he enrolls within one year of retirement.
“I think our lineage is a testament to understanding the hard work you have to put into it,” Cam Leiter said. “I have had a plethora of knowledge, stories and advice from my dad, Al, Mark Sr., Mark Jr. and Jack. Naturally, there is pressure. Baseball people ask if I am related to them. Each has had a different role in my development. I bounce ideas off their brains and see what they think. We are not all bonus babies. Ya still gotta make pitches. Ya still gotta get outs.
“It is a blessing to be born into a family like this. I am just trying to accomplish their dreams in the way they did. It’s a grind, but ya gotta persevere through it and want it. They do a real good job of giving me information. They don’t say, ‘Do this or do that.’ When I either call or text them, they answer. It is huge to be able to call on them. There are so many different scenarios.”
“The reason for the Leiter Lineage is our passion and love of the game,” Kurt Leiter said. “It starts with the passion. Ya gotta love it. You are dedicated and will practice it. You want to work on your craft and be good.”
Cam Leiter, a brother, Will, and their dad followed the draft from their Florida home. Cam Leiter learned of his selection from an agent in the Boras Corporation, named for super agent Scott Boras.
The corporation’s vice president is former Central baseball and football standout Jeff Musselman, a 1981 graduate who played for Kunzman and pitched in the major leagues from 1986-1990 after being selected by the Blue Jays in the sixth round in 1985.
“I wanted the gathering to be real small,” Cam Leiter said. “I did not know on which round I would be drafted. It was special to see my name up there. I have dreamed of it for 21 years. It was cool to experience it.”
Cam Leiter slays hitters with four and two-seam fastballs, a splitter (he emulates Mark Jr.’s pitch), a slider and a curveball. His fastball hummed past the plate at 99 mph at Central Florida. These days, his norm is 98 mph.
What’s his out pitch, the pitch he needs to escape a pressurized situation?
“All of them,” he said with a laugh.
Cam Leiter has begun his professional career with the Arizona Complex League Dodgers, a rookie affiliate, in Glendale. The team consists of primarily first-year pros either as draftees or non-drafted free agents. The team plays its home games at 13,000-seat Camelback Ranch.
Cam Leiter said he is being groomed as a starter.
“The Dodgers have already said that,” he said. “I am being built up as a starting pitcher. I am getting used to the higher volume of throwing. I am fine tuning things to get ready for spring training when I hope to pitch in my first professional game.”
Cam Leiter said Al Leiter has played a large role in his mental approach.
“He said, ‘You have to be physically and mentally prepared to execute each pitch until the manager takes the ball out of your hand,’ ” Cam Leiter said. “In college, I thought too far ahead. Now, I am thinking of each individual pitch. I got that from Al.”
Cam Leiter was the 114th-rated prospect prior to the draft.
“The Leiter family has done more to produce big league arms than some (NCAA) Division I college programs,” a scouting report said on mlb.com, “and Cam Leiter is the latest with a chance to get there. He had an uneven freshman season (at Central Florida). At FSU, he showed off his power stuff and had command issues, but only for seven starts because of a shoulder issue. When he’s healthy, Leiter has a lot to offer a future major league team. He’s a big, physical 6-foot-5 RHP with huge stuff. He has the chance to have four legitimate pitches, starting with an explosive fastball that he cranks up to 98 mph and averaged 95 mph last year, throwing it with excellent extension.
Cam Leiter, a 2022 graduate, played two seasons under coach Jerry Frulio at Central. Cam Leiter’s pitching coach each season was his dad.
“Man, that was awesome,” Cam Leiter said. “I grew up in Canada and dad told me what it would be like to grow up on the Jersey Shore and in Seaside Heights and Toms River. Central treated me great. Al donated money for Central’s field to be refurbished and it was named for him during my senior year. It was a fairytale, a dream come true. I will always be bitter about us not winning a state title, but we had a great run.”
“Before Cam could walk, I put a ball in his hand and he did the arm motion of a pitcher,” Kurt Leiter said. “As soon as he could walk, we were playing sports. He loved it right from the start. My being his pitching coach was a dream come true.”
Kurt Leiter offered Cam Leiter fatherly advice, stating, “Be a good person. Be humble. Treat people the way you want to be treated. No longer worry about velocity. It’s about getting people out.”
Cam Leiter posted a 4-1 record and a 2.02 ERA as a Central junior. He followed with a 4-4 record and a 0.89 ERA as a senior. He batted .489, hit eight home runs and plated 34 runs as a senior. He tied the program’s single-season hits (45) and slugging percentage (.870) records in 2022.
“I honestly do not believe he ever felt the pressure of being a Leiter,” Frulio said. “I know some players on other teams would talk trash to him, calling him overrated and garbage like that. He would just laugh and go out there and blow them away with a fastball or launch a home run that still hasn’t landed yet … and smirk as he rounded the bases. He’s a LEITER. He’s been groomed for this (a major league career).
“His dad by far has always had the biggest impact on him. Of course, Cam has always had such an incredible arsenal of resources just a phone call away and you gotta know it has certainly greatly impacted his playing career.”
Shoulder surgery cost Cam Leiter the 2025 season and about half of the 2024 campaign. Dr. Keith Meister, the Rangers’ team physician, performed the surgery in October of 2024.
“It was tough, real tough,” the 234-pounder said. “It’s one of the hardest things an athlete can go through. To be signed and be in a great organization for pitchers is exciting. I have put the injury behind me. I am excited to move on from the injury.”
Cam Leiter pitched to a combined 8-3 record and a 4.81 ERA at Central Florida and FSU. He appeared in 22 games and started 21. He allowed 85 hits, including 11 home runs, whiffed 146 and allowed 63 walks through 91 2/3 innings. He led Central Florida in strikeouts (80) as a freshman.
He threw a bullpen session in front of personnel from 23 major league teams at the Boras Corporation’s Miami facility prior to the draft. It was his first showcase for scouts of any kind since 2024.
“It went really well,” he said. “I hit a 96 (mph). My secondaries had some good properties, good shape. I just felt really comfortable. I just wanted to let teams know that I’m still alive and still pitching. The surgery was a clean out operation that did not require inserting any physical anchors in my shoulder.
“I was out of a sling in a matter of days with full mobility. It wasn’t like some of the shoulder surgeries you hear about like the labrum or rotator cuff where they are actually doing something to change your body. With shoulders, it’s usually 12 to 14 months to recover. I’m ready to go.”
“Cam is a driven young man with an incredible background,” Frulio said, “and he will never stop working to get better.”
