ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Jordan Leasure knows Tropicana Field. His grandfather took him to many games so he could cheer on the likes of Evan Longoria, James Shields and David Price. When he arrived at the venue Monday evening, well, things were a little different.
“I have been here 100 times and walking out on the field was weirdly familiar,” he said Wednesday afternoon. “But it was different being in the dugout, sitting in the bullpen and getting those views. It was super cool.”
It was super cool because the righthander arrived at the Trop as a major leaguer with the Chicago White Sox. It was super cool because he had a cheering section of roughly 100, including the University of Tampa baseball team. While he did not pitch in the three-game series against the Rays, his rookie season has been full of memories to this point.
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The 25-year-old Leasure made the White Sox out of spring training. He threw a scoreless inning against Detroit on March 30 in his MLB debut and sports a 2.57 ERA and 1.29 WHIP through his first 15 appearances.
“It is trusting my stuff and not trying to do too much,” he said of his success. “Trusting what the catchers are calling, throwing everything with conviction and not being scared to get hurt. There have been times in the past when I have not thrown a pitch with conviction and I watch it go over the fence.”
The 6-foot-3, 225-pound Brandon native and Riverview High product pitched for the UT Spartans and was a 14th-round selection of the Dodgers in 2021 before being dealt to Chicago last July.
“A-plus character,” said UT coach Joe Urso, a former Spartan All-American, in describing Leasure. “He was everything you would want. He was a great teammate and a hard worker. (Reaching the majors) could not have happened to a better kid and I am really excited for him.”
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It is easy to be excited for a young man who truly battled to get to this point. Leasure had thoracic outlet syndrome (compression of nerves and veins that can affect neck, shoulders and arms) surgery before his senior year at Riverview, which altered his desire to attend an in-state DI school. Fast forward to 2019 when what would have been his junior season at UT was lost as he recovered from Tommy John surgery.
Leasure returned in 2020 only to have most of that season wiped out due to the pandemic. Finally, in 2021, he once again had the benefit of a full season and made the most of it. Leasure put on what Urso described as some quality weight and got his fastball up to the mid-90s. The results were eye-opening as he went 4-1 with six saves and a 0.94 ERA. He fanned 60 and walked only four batters in 38 innings while helping the Spartans return to the DII College World Series, which they won in 2019 when Leasure was unavailable.
“I had the surgery in the beginning of summer in 2018 and I felt good working with the trainers at UT and working my way back,” he recalled. “I was throwing off the mound when we were in Cary (N.C) for the World Series and I kept telling them that I wanted to throw and I wanted to help the team. They told me I was not doing it.”
Patience was the key, something Leasure said was consistently preached by pitching coach and former Spartan and major leaguer Sam Militello. Such handling of players underscores what has helped make UT the successful program it has been for many years.
“The culture is centered around winning and everything done there is super intense,” said Leasure. “Practices are intense and methodical and workouts are the same. From the fall to the end of the spring season, it is showing up with a purpose every day. I have taken that into my professional career, doing everything with a purpose.”
Leasure has been pitching with a purpose since reaching The Show, which has impressed Pedro Grifol. The White Sox manager, who played at Florida State, has nothing but high praise for his young pitcher.
“I don’t think he’s afraid of anything,” he said. “He’s got confidence in his abilities and the weapons to go with it. That is a good combination to have.”
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