2023 #14 Prospect Luis De Leon - LHP

[Tony-OH]

https://orioleshangout.com/2023/11/19/orioles-2023-14-prospect-luis-de-leon-lhp/

At just 20-years old and with just 26.1 innings above rookie ball, Luis De Leon comes in as the #14 prospect based on perhaps the highest ceiling of any pitcher in the Orioles system.

Luis De Leon
Throws: Left
Age (as of Jun 30th) : 20
2023 Level: FCL/A

Pitches (current/future value)
Fastball: 50/70
Slider: 40/55
Change: 40/50
Command: 35/50

Most Likely Future Role: Too early
Ceiling: Top of Rotation starter

2023 Highlights

What we know: Quite simply, there is no pitcher in the minor league system with a higher ceiling then this 20-year old Dominican. De Leon is a 6-foot-3 lefty with plenty of room to fill out his frame who already possesses a mid-90s (94-95 mph) bowling ball of a fastball that has touched 98 MPH this season. His fastball does lose some velocity later in his outings, but still sits 92-93 MPH. He also brings a solid average slider to the mound that can be tough on lefties ,though it's horizontal movement can be inconsistent at times and sometimes backs up. The southpaw has pretty good feel for a changeup that also flashes average with good fade and drop at times, though he leaves it up a bit in the strike zone a little more than he would like. The slider is a bit ahead of the changeup currently, but they both could develop into at least average major league pitches

He's an uncomfortable at bat for any hitter and put up the best ground ball % (68.3% overall, but was an unbelievable 73.4% in his 26.1 A ball innings with Delmarva) in the organization. Between the FCL and Delmarva (Low-A), batters slashed just .190/.290/.232/.523 with Carolina League batters hitting just .177 off him with a ridiculous 6.7% line drive rate. His overall 21.4% swinging strike percentage was the best in the system for anyone who pitched high than the rookie ball though that did drop to a respectable 14.1% in A ball.

He's a bit of a slinger with a low 3/4 delivery that helps his fastball play up even more than it's already plus velocity.

While he's a ground ball inducing machine who also misses bats, his downside is a lack of command that saw him put up a 5.47 BB/9 in A ball, but some of that was from two bad appearances in September. The good news is that he really doesn't throw all that many uncompetitive pitches and while he misses too much, he doesn't miss by a lot.

He's a young man who is still growing into his body and part of that may be what is leading to the inconsistent command. Like some other young pitchers, he can let a bad call affect him and allow it to snowball his inning a bit, so controlling those emotions will be something he'll need to improve as well.

What we don’t know: Can he find more consistency with throwing quality strikes? Can he go deeper into games? The Orioles never let him throw more than 65 pitches with Delmarva, but were probably treating him a bit cautious since he only threw 24 inning last year in the DSL. Either way, we don't if he can maintain his velocity up to 100 pitches or not and the fact it trails off to the 92-93 MPH range when he never threw more than 65 pitches means it's still up in the air whether he can stick as a starter.

What we think: De Leon was put on our radar last year despite the less than stellar stats in the Dominican Summer League and after seeing his this year we can see why. While this might be an aggressive position to put him on the list, the fact remains that he has the best ceiling of any current pitcher in the system if he fully fills out, is able to maintain or even adds to his velocity, and improves his command. There are a ton of unknowns, but if he's stays healthy, he's an electric pitcher to watch in 2024. He'll most likely start the year back in Delmarva where the

[btdart20]

Gotta love the GB% from a LHP in OPACY with hopes of TOR quality!

He’s the guy I want to see in Aberdeen next year.  

[LookinUp]

This is the guy I’m dreaming on. Let’s hope he has a solid, healthy progression.

[bpilktree]

Is this our Framber Valdez?   

[now]

... or Zach Britton?

I see definite echoes there in Tony's high praise and description of his stuff: the "bowling ball" fastball, and "ground ball inducing machine who also misses bats" 

Yes, please!

[Say O!]

It’s great to have some arms in the system with upside beyond GRod and Hall. 

[btdart20]

3 hours ago, bpilktree said:

Is this our Framber Valdez?   

That’s the hope!  If the international guys can be what they’ve been in HOU, that’s big.

[Frobby]

Exciting write-up!   And, it confirms my belief that some of these guys get on Tony’s radar because his sources put him on to them: “De Leon was put on our radar last year despite the less than stellar stats in the Dominican Summer League and after seeing his this year we can see why.”  Makes we wonder who else is getting talked up among our FCL/DSL players.  

Also worth noting: De Leon was signed in December 2021 for $30,000.  So it’s not always the high profile Jan. 15 signings that end up producing all the talent.  It’s great to see Perez & co. finding some hidden gems.
 

[Tony-OH]

4 hours ago, Frobby said:

Exciting write-up!   And, it confirms my belief that some of these guys get on Tony’s radar because his sources put him on to them: “De Leon was put on our radar last year despite the less than stellar stats in the Dominican Summer League and after seeing his this year we can see why.”  Makes we wonder who else is getting talked up among our FCL/DSL players.  

Also worth noting: De Leon was signed in December 2021 for $30,000.  So it’s not always the high profile Jan. 15 signings that end up producing all the talent.  It’s great to see Perez & co. finding some hidden gems.
 

You're about to find out!  

[sportsfan8703]

I know I first heard of him when he was pulled from a start right around the deadline. Seemed like he was going to a part of a trade.

It’s not a knock on him if he starts back in Delmarva to go 5+ IP consistently. That’s just what it takes to develop SP, and why we’ve chosen to go bat first in the early stages of Elias building our system.  Also, another reason why Holt can step into the new role because we actually know have pitching in full season ball for him to work with. 

[Frobby]

3 hours ago, sportsfan8703 said:

 

It’s not a knock on him if he starts back in Delmarva to go 5+ IP consistently.

Considering that he’s only thrown 26.1 innings in low A and will be 21 all next season, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he’s back at Delmarva to start the year.  There were 9 pitchers who started more games at Delmarva than De Leon did, three of whom (Portes, Beck and Nunez) finished the year at Aberdeen.  I’m guessing the three of them will be in the Aberdeen rotation to start the year along with Deivy Cruz and maybe Moises Chace.  Baumler is likely to land there too.  

[btdart20]

2 hours ago, Frobby said:

Considering that he’s only thrown 26.1 innings in low A and will be 21 all next season, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he’s back at Delmarva to start the year.  There were 9 pitchers who started more games at Delmarva than De Leon did, three of whom (Portes, Beck and Nunez) finished the year at Aberdeen.  I’m guessing the three of them will be in the Aberdeen rotation to start the year along with Deivy Cruz and maybe Moises Chace.  Baumler is likely to land there too.  

It's been a while since I've been this interested in as many pitching prospects in one level as what Aberdeen looks like it could provide next year.