León defected from Cuba, waited until December 2019 for MLB to declare him a free agent and quickly reached a deal with the Astros for $4 million that had to wait until the 2020-21 signing period to fit into their bonus pool. He officially signed in January 2021, receiving the largest bonus in that year's class and setting a franchise record for an international player, with the hope that he could replace departing free agent George Springer sooner rather than later. Three years later, he's still trying to turn one of the best toolsets in the system into consistent production.
León possesses plus raw right-handed power but instead of letting it come naturally, he sells out for home runs with an aggressive pull-heavy approach that results in too many chases and swings-and-misses. He has finished second in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League in strikeouts the past two seasons, batting a combined .237/.353/.433 with a 29 percent whiff rate. He might provide 20 homers per season with a healthy amount of walks, but he won't hit enough to be a big league regular until he makes adjustments and more consistent contact.
A plus runner, León has improved his basestealing acumen and swiped 21 bases in 28 attempts last year. He's not the most instinctive outfielder, relying on his quickness to overcome lackluster reads and routes. He grades as a fringy-to-average defender in center field and a bit better in right, where his plus-plus arm is a weapon. Houston gave up on trying him at shortstop after he opened 2022 with three errors in three games there but continues to deploy him at second base, where he's more suited for fill-in duty than everyday play.
Declared a free agent in December 2019, Leon waited until January 2021 to sign for $4 million, the largest bonus in the 2020-21 international class. He has the loudest tools in the system but batted just .225/.355/.407 with 26 homers, 56 steals and a 29 percent strikeout rate in his first two pro seasons. He has struggled at the upper levels of the Minors after a two-year layoff following his defection from Cuba, and injuries (broken pinky in 2021, facial fracture last year) and an ill-fated attempt to play him at shortstop haven't helped his cause.
Leon is a toolshed with at least plus raw power, plus speed out of the batter's box (and more once he gets going) and double-plus arm strength. He has electric bat speed from the right side of the plate, did a better job of driving the ball in the air last season and shows the willingness to draft walks, but he still has a lot of offensive adjustments to make. He chases too many pitches out of the zone, tries to pull too many to left field and doesn't make consistent contact against fastballs or offspeed pitches.
Leon is equally aggressive with his speed, though he's still refining his basestealing after succeeding on just 67 percent of his attempts the past two seasons. He's not the most polished center fielder but uses his quickness to overcome his mistakes, and his arm will play anywhere in the outfield. Though he doesn't look very instinctive or natural in the infield, the Astros will continue giving him time at second base after ending his shortstop experiment when he made three errors in three games the first week of the 2022 season.
A Cuban defector who was declared a free agent in December 2019, Leon waited until January 2021 to sign for $4 million, the largest bonus in the 2020-21 international class. The Astros pushed him aggressively in his U.S. debut, starting him in Double-A, promoting him to Triple-A after 10 weeks and playing him primarily at shortstop despite most of his prior experience coming in center field. He batted just .220/.339/.369 with a 31 percent strikeout rate, though that came after a two-year layoff and against far more advanced pitching than he had faced previously, and he was starting to take off before breaking his left pinky on a slide and missing nearly two months.
While Leon didn't post huge numbers, he still has the loudest tools in the Houston system and helped soften the blow of the Astros losing their top two picks in the 2020 and 2021 Drafts as punishment for sign-stealing. He has well above-average bat speed and at least plus raw power, and he's a plus runner out of the batter's box who's even faster once he accelerates. While he does need to make better contact, use the opposite field more and address a hole at the top of his strike zone, he has shown a patient approach and ability to make adjustments.
Leon played an adequate shortstop in his first long-term exposure at the position, showing improvement after sitting back on too many balls and attempting some unwise throws earlier in the season. He lacks natural infield actions however and is a superior defender in center field, where his speed and instincts play better. His top-of-the-scale arm strength is an asset at any position and Houston may see how it works at third base in 2022.
Eight days before George Springer officially signed with the Blue Jays, the Astros signed his eventual replacement when they landed Leon for $4 million, the largest bonus any player will receive in the 2020 international class. He defected from Cuba and was declared a free agent in December 2019, quickly reaching a deal with Houston that had to wait until the 2020-21 signing period to fit into the club's bonus pool. He has a package of tools that would make him a top-10-overall pick if he were Draft-eligible, so landing him is huge for a franchise that lost its top two selections in both 2020 and 2021 as a sign-stealing penalty.
In his last game experience, Leon batted .383/.467/.789 with 15 homers in 33 games in Cuba's top league as a 20-year-old in 2018-19. He hasn't been scouted extensively by teams so there's some uncertainty surrounding his hitting ability and some swing-and-miss concerns, but if he has even an average bat he should become a star. Despite his compact frame, he's packed with strength and has plenty of bat speed in his right-handed swing, creating well above average raw power.
There are fewer questions about Leon's ability to stay in center field. He's a plus-plus runner with the instincts to help him track down balls and steal bases, and he also features top-of-the-scale arm strength. Though his most likely long-term home is center, the Astros plan on giving him plenty of reps at shortstop in 2022 after he looked good there during Spring Training.
Leon is a quick-twitch athlete with the potential for five above-average tools in the future. At the plate, Leon has a short, compact swing. He doesn’t swing and miss much and shows power potential to all fields. He’s also a plus runner with base-stealing potential. On defense, he has all of the tools to stay in center field and displays a strong and accurate arm. He has been praised for his makeup.
In 2018, Leon sported a .371 batting average and a 1.220 OPS with 15 home runs and seven stolen bases in 33 games for Mayabeque in Serie Nacional, Cuba’s top professional league. He was named to the 2018 Serie Nacional All-Star Game.
He defected from Cuba in 2019 and was declared a free agent on Dec. 6. He has been eligible to sign since Dec. 20. The outfielder was slowed by an oblique injury at the end of 2019, but he has fully recovered and has been working out privately for teams since January. He had a showcase open to all 30 teams the first week of February. The Astros are the favorite to sign him.
! Note: Shifts are through the 2022 season, Shaded starting from the 2023 season, Shift: three or more infielders are on the same side of second base, Shade: positioned outside of their typical responsible slices of the field. Learn more about how positioning is defined here
