Call to the pen
Fansided

Tampa Bay Rays Scouting Report On RHP Jose De Leon

By Benjamin Chase

Mar 18, 2017; San Diego, CA, USA; Puerto Rico pitcher Jose De Leon (87) delivers a pitch during the first inning against Venezuela during the 2017 World Baseball Classic at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 18, 2017; San Diego, CA, USA; Puerto Rico pitcher Jose De Leon (87) delivers a pitch during the first inning against Venezuela during the 2017 World Baseball Classic at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 2
Next
Mar 18, 2017; San Diego, CA, USA; Puerto Rico pitcher Jose De Leon (87) delivers a pitch during the first inning against Venezuela during the 2017 World Baseball Classic at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 18, 2017; San Diego, CA, USA; Puerto Rico pitcher Jose De Leon (87) delivers a pitch during the first inning against Venezuela during the 2017 World Baseball Classic at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports /

Tampa Bay Rays right Jose De Leon made his first appearance of the minor league season this week. What did the Rays acquire in the young right-hander?

Player Profile

The Tampa Bay Rays acquired Jose De Leon this offseason from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

A native of Puerto Rico, Jose De Leon was drafted by the Dodgers in 24th round of the 2013 draft after three seasons at Southern University and A&M College.

De Leon opened with the Arizona Rookie League after his draft before finishing with a disastrous time at Ogden in the Pioneer League. Overall, he posted a 6.96 ERA over 14 games, 13 of them starts, throwing 53 innings, with a 1.66 WHIP, 8.4% walk rate, and a 21.2% strikeout rate.

De Leon spent time in extended spring before returning to Ogden in 2014. The return trip was much kinder to him, as was his last season promotion to low-A Great Lakes in the Midwest League.

Overall, he made 14 appearances, 12 of them starts, throwing 77 innings with a 2.22 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 6.69% walk rate, and striking out an incredible 37.9% of batters he faced on the season!

In spite of just 4 starts at low-A, the Dodgers felt comfortable moving De Leon to high-A to open 2015. He didn’t last long there, either, moving up to AA in the Texas League with Tulsa.

Combined, De Leon made 23 starts, putting up a 2.99 ERA over 114 1/3 innings with a 1.09 WHIP, 7.96% walk rate, and 35.05% strikeout rate.

While one big season could be put off, his second season was too much to be ignored by prospect folks, and De Leon took a big jump up prospect lists, ranking #23 in the Baseball America top 100 list, #24 in MLB Pipeline’s list, and #28 in Baseball Prospectus’ list.

De Leon got a taste of the Pacific Coast League in 2016, but he didn’t struggle with the noted hitter’s haven, posting a 2.61 ERA over 16 starts and 86 1/3 innings with a 0.94 WHIP, 5.85% walk rate, and 32.46% strikeout rate.

The Dodgers gave De Leon a major league trial last September, and it didn’t go so well, as he posted a 6.35 ERA over 4 starts, throwing 17 innings with a 1.53 WHIP, 8.75% walk rate, and 18.75% strikeout rate.

After the season, ranking services were a bit down on De Leon due to his age as a prospect and the struggles in his first taste of major league ball, seeing him drop to #29 on list, #33 on MLB’s list, and #38 on BP’s list. He was rated #23 overall in the Call To The Pen Top 125 prospects in January.

In January 2017, the Dodgers traded De Leon to the Tampa Bay Rays for second baseman Logan Forsythe.

On Thursday, May 11th, De Leon made his debut in the Rays system after opening the season on the DL. He made a minor league rehab start for Charlotte in the Florida State League, going 3 1/3 innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits, walking none, and striking out 7.

Next: De Leon's scouting report

Home/Tampa Bay Rays