2025 Fantasy Baseball: Chicago White Sox Closer Depth Chart
The ninth for the White Sox looks dicey in 2025. They lack proven arms and the best option, Jordan Leasure, comes off a shoulder injury that led to a poor finish to last season.
Jordan Leasure's 2Ks in the 7th pic.twitter.com/MR8jtVXoN5
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 25, 2024
RP – Jordan Leasure, CWS
Over his first three seasons in the minors, Leasure went 5-6 with a 3.76 ERA, 1.176 WHIP, 176 strikeouts, and 19 saves over 117.1 innings. His arm fell short of expectations at AAA over his 26 appearances (5.87 ERA, 1.609 WHIP, and 35 strikeouts over 23.0 innings).
Leasure made the White Sox bullpen out of spring training last season, leading to success over his first 20.2 innings (2.18 ERA, 1.113 WHIP, and 17 strikeouts) while earning two saves in three chances. He crushed his early gains over his next 11 games (17 runs, 27 baserunners, and five home runs over 10.2 innings with nine strikeouts). His major league season ended at the All-Star break due to a right shoulder impingement. The White Sox gave him 4.1 innings of work in September (three runs, three hits, four walks, and six strikeouts).
Leasure averaged 96.3 mph with his four-seam fastball (.164 BAA). He mixed a low-volume curveball (.231 BAA). Batters drilled his slider (.419 BAA and .744 SLG). Here’s a look at his pitch outcomes before and after his disastrous run:
Fantasy Outlook: For 65.9% of last year with Chicago, Leasure proved he could handle major league batters even with below-par command (3.5 walks per nine innings). His shoulder issue was clearly the reason for his demise (.370 BAA and 8.4 walks per nine). With six months to recover, Leasure has a winnable window to pitch his way back into the ninth inning for the Chicago. He has much to prove, and the waiver wire will be his friend until Leasure earns his major league first save in 2025.
Sorry.
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 1, 2024
Prelander Berroa also picked up 3Ks on Sliders. pic.twitter.com/xBcAMWDsc7
RP – Prelander Berroa, CWS
Over seven seasons in the minors, Berroa went 24-17 with a 3.89 ERA, 1.375 WHIP, and 547 strikeouts over 421.0 innings. In 2022, he pitched well as a starter (2.86 ERA and 150 strikeouts over 100.2 innings) due to batters hitting only .158 against him. On the downside, his walk rate (5.6) continued to be a liability.
In 2023, Berroa worked more out of the bullpen at AA, leading to repeated success in ERA (2.89) and elite strikeouts (101 over 65.1 innings). His command (5.4 walks per nine) remained an issue. The Mariners gave him two innings of work in the majors (no runs, three walks, and three strikeouts).
Berroa battled a right shoulder injury in late March, pushing him to AAA to open the year. He allowed 11 runs, 13 baserunners, and four home runs over his first 4.1 innings with five strikeouts. After seven shutout innings (five hits, six walks, and eight strikeouts), the White Sox called him up to face two batters (hit batter and out). More disaster pursued over his following 26 games in the minors (5.90 ERA and 1.621 WHIP over 29.0 innings). Berroa ended the year with success in Chicago in ERA (2.12) despite walking 11 batters over 17.0 innings.
His average fastball (97.7) is an asset in velocity. Berroa threw his slider as his top usage pitch (56.6%) with success (.173 BAA). Batters hit .353 off his four-seamer.
Fantasy Outlook: Without massive improvement in his command, Berroa cannot earn saves for the White Sox. He checks the velocity box with one elite pitch, but he must get ahead in the count (51% first-pitch strike rate in 2024) to develop into a reliable late-inning arm. He has a high WHIP risk, highlighted by some disaster games when home plate looks like the size of a baseball.
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