Chasing Saves: Jordan Leasure Emerging As A Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

With shaky closers and minimal wins, targeting saves from the White Sox, Rockies, and Marlins has been a frustrating fantasy gamble—though Jordan Leasure may offer a glimmer of hope.

Chicago White Sox pitcher Jordan Leasure (49) throws a pitch in the seventh inning of the MLB interleague game between the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox, Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at Great American Ball Park in Downtown Cincinnati. White Sox won 4-2. | Frank Bowen IV/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Chasing saves on the White Sox, Rockies, and Marlins has been a tall task in 2025. They have a combined 42 wins with 13 saves. 

I should probably include Baltimore (15) and Pittsburgh (16), but the Orioles have a set closer (Felix Bautista – 7-for-7 in saves) and David Bednar (3.38 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, one walk, and 20 strikeouts over 13.1 innings) has pitched well enough since returning from the minors to earn the bulk of saves for Pittsburgh.

Miami Marlins Closer Battle

Since April 21st, Miami has three saves (Calvin Faucher – 1 and Jesus Tinoco – 2). Faucher was trending after tossing 11.2 shutout innings with 14 strikeouts, but the Cubs drilled him for six runs and six baserunners on Tuesday night while failing to record an out. Over his last eight games, Tinoco was drilled in three matchups, leading to nine runs, 13 baserunners, and one home run over seven innings with six strikeouts while securing two of his four save tries.

Colorado Rockies Closer Battle

Meanwhile, Seth Halvorsen sucked in some fantasy manager this week. He picked up a save on May 17th while looking sharp over his last 9.1 innings (two runs, nine baserunners, and nine strikeouts). Unfortunately, the Phillies beat him for four runs, five hits, and a home run over two-thirds of an inning on May 19th in a blown save. 

Zach Agnos was trending in the wrong direction last week (two runs, five baserunners, and a home run over 2.2 innings with four strikeouts), suggesting a setup role due to better pitching by Halvorsen. His last save came on May 1st. With the Rockies having eight wins over 48 games, saves in this bullpen tend to come with more risk than reward.

Chicago White Sox Closer Battle

Last night, the White Sox gave Jordan Leasure a save chance, which he converted (no runs, one hit, and two strikeouts over one inning). He pitched better over his last six games (one run, five baserunners, and eight strikeouts over 4.1 innings), lowering his ERA to 3.86. On the downside, Leasure has allowed four home runs over 16.1 innings. 

Jordan Leasure gets the job done battling through. 1-0 White Sox. pic.twitter.com/qdVtuDDYi2

— FutureSox (@FutureSox) May 21, 2025

His fastball (96.8 MPH) is trending higher, and batters have struggled to hit his high-volume slider (.143 BAA – 41.2% usage). Leasure came to the majors with a closing profile (3.51 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and 150 strikeouts over 102.2 innings with 16 saves between rookie ball, A, High A, and AA. 

Cam Booser (5.71 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, and four home runs over 17.1 innings) is their closing answer. Mike Vasil has a winning ERA (1.98) over his 27.1 innings with Chicago, but he can’t pitch in the ninth based on his poor command (19 walks and 17 strikeouts). Steven Wilson (1.98 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and 13 strikeouts over 13.2 innings) has the best stats in this bullpen but lacks a closing profile (one save in the majors over 156 games).

Leasure is worth a closing flier, but his save output won’t be high enough to make a difference in the standings without more wins by the White Sox. At the very least, Chicago should give him more ninth-inning chances from now on, and Leasure should be a free agent in all 12- and 15-team leagues.