The 18th-ranked prospect, and the one that is closest to joining the major league team that we have covered so far, Jordan Leasure has had a great 2023 season. A part of the Joe Kelly and Lance Lynn trade with the Dodgers, Leasure was more than just a throw-in. He would be drafted out of D2 Tampa in the 14th round of 2021, and he has clearly overperformed his draft stock.
The right-handed reliever features the first 80 grade given to any of the prospects we have covered so far on this list. MLB has his fastball listed as an 80 grade, which is as high as it can be. They are not wrong. He has a high 90s fastball that can easily reach 100 when he wants it to. This is key for a reliever, as you need that extra juice on your fastball to help induce strikeouts in key situations.
Leasure has done just that as he struck out 79 batters in just 48.1 innings. Those are elite numbers and why is he likely will be in the major leagues next year. He doesn’t really have much of a walk problem as he only walked 24 batters this year. While it could be lower, it really wasn’t that bad. Most of them came after the trade to the White Sox, where he struggled for the first time in his professional career.
Before the trade with the White Sox, Leasure pitched with Tulane, the Dodgers AA team. Leasure threw 32 innings, giving up 21 hits, six of those being home runs. He would walk 16 but strike out 56 batters. This was good enough for a 3.09 ERA, but opponents would hit a measly .169 against him. He would have a fantastic 1.06 WHIP, which would be part of the reason the Sox would push to have him included in the Lance Lynn trade.
Unfortunately, once he got traded to the Sox, he would not put up nearly those same numbers. He would post a 6.08 ERA in only 15 games. In those 13.1 innings, he would give up 16 hits, including three home runs, while walking eight. He would still have some elite strikeout numbers, as he struck out 23 batters. But other than that, it was not a great start to his AAA career. He would have a 1.8 WHIP and opponents would hit .286 off of him.
I would just chalk those inflated numbers up to the trade and the promotion to AAA. Adjusting to a trade is difficult enough so when you add a promotion in there, it can complicate things. He has the stuff to be a very good major league reliever, as he has his devasting fastball and a very good slider. He will definitely be in Spring Training for the White Sox and will likely make the roster as a ‘pen piece, barring any significant free agent or trade movement in the bullpen.
I would grade his season before the trade an A, but once he got traded to the Sox, it would be in the C/D range. It was really two different stories for Leasure this year, but he was a nice pickup for the White Sox and should be a very solid piece in the bullpen for them.
