Luke Jackson DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Texas Rangers relief pitcher Luke Jackson closed the door on the Reds on Wednesday afternoon in Cincinnati. Jackson entered a 1-0 game at the start of the ninth inning and gave up a single to TJ Friedl. With the tying run on base, he struck out Matt McLain and got Elly De La Cruz to ground out to 2B to close out the victory, as the Rangers improved to 5-2 on the season. Jackson has now made four appearances this season and has bounced back nicely after taking the loss on Opening Day. He has closed out all three of his save opportunities and remains the team's primary closer, although Chris Martin is also a secondary option with a save and two holds in his 4 1/3 scoreless innings in the early part of the season.

Texas Rangers relief pitcher Luke Jackson was called upon to protect a one-run lead against the Boston Red Sox on Sunday. It wasn't easy, as Jackson allowed a double and a walk, but he was able to work out of the jam. He struck out Alex Bregman to end the game and earned his second save of the season. It was unclear who would be the closer heading into the season, but it appears Jackson is the favorite right now. He has worked in three of the first four games of the season. That being said, it wouldn't be shocking to see Jackson unavailable on Monday. If that happens, Chris Martin or Marc Church could be asked to take the mound in his absence if a save situation arises.

Texas Rangers relief pitcher Luke Jackson closed out the team's 6-3 victory over the Royals on Tuesday night, earning a save with a perfect ninth inning. Chris Martin pitched the eighth inning in what could be a preview of how the Rangers will line up their bullpen to start the season. Both pitchers were very effective, retiring the side in order with two strikeouts each. Jackson allowed just two hits and one walk in six scoreless innings this spring, picking up nine strikeouts and making a strong case to be the team's closer to start the season.

Texas Rangers relief pitcher Luke Jackson could be in the mix for saves in 2025. Manager Bruce Bochy said things will be "pretty close" to how he used the bullpen in Monday's 6-3 win over the Royals, where Robert Garcia pitched the 7th, Chris Martin pitched the 8th, and Jackson picked up the save in the 9th. This news comes as a surprise, with the job being primarily considered as a two-way competition between Garcia and Martin up until this point. Bochy did clarify that the roles aren't defined, so it's still likely that all three see save chances at some point. Jackson split 2024 between the Giants and Braves, where he posted a 5.09 ERA and 1.47 WHIP with 59 strikeouts and 26 walks in 53 innings. It's unlikely he will become a dominant reliever in 2025, but this bullpen situation is definitely one to monitor.

The Texas Rangers announced on Monday that they signed free-agent right-handed reliever Luke Jackson to an undisclosed one-year deal for the 2025 season. Jackson will now return to Texas after the organization drafted him 45th overall in the first round in 2010. The 33-year-old spent the first two years of his MLB career with the Rangers before joining the Atlanta Braves for the next five seasons. He spent 2024 with the San Francisco Giants and Braves, going 4-3 with a 5.09 ERA (4.24 FIP) and 1.47 WHIP with 59 strikeouts and 26 walks in 53 relief innings. Fantasy managers can ignore Jackson in the vast majority of formats this year, as he'll likely settle in as more of a low-leverage middle reliever for the Rangers. He has a 4.24 career ERA with a 1.45 WHIP, 19 saves, a 24.4% strikeout rate and a 10.0% walk rate in nine seasons in the majors. Eighteen of Jackson's saves came in 2019 with Atlanta.