In the aftermath of tonight’s trade that brought Yusei Kikuchi to Houston in exchange for a three-player trade package, the Astros will fill one of their roster spots with outfield prospect Pedro Leon. MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart (X link) reports that the Astros will select Leon’s contract to the 40-man roster, giving the 26-year-old his first taste of big league baseball.
Baseball America ranked Leon as the top prospect available when he officially signed his $4MM deal with the Astros in 2021, though at age 22, he was significantly older than most members of the 2020-21 international signing class. He had already played two seasons in Cuba’s National Series before defecting, and he didn’t play at all in 2019 or 2020 due to paperwork delays, the pandemic, and the fact that the Astros didn’t have the bonus pool space to sign him until the 2020-21 window opened.
Leon reached Triple-A Sugar Land before the end of the 2021 season, but he has remained at the top affiliate ever since, hitting .249/.357/.445 with 57 home runs in 1567 total Triple-A appearances. That slash line includes a marked step up in production this season, as Leon has hit .297/.377/.519 with 19 homers over 424 PA in 2024.
Plenty of caveats abound with these numbers. Leon is now 26 and playing against generally much younger competition, and batting totals tend to be inflated in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. In addition, his .374 BABIP suggests a lot of batted-ball fortune, and his 8.7% is the lowest of his three full Triple-A seasons. Leon has slightly reduced his strikeout rate from past years, but only to 26.2%.
MLB Pipeline ranks Leon 24th among all Astros prospects, with Baseball America putting him 29th in their evaluation of Houston’s farm system. The strikeouts are naturally a big concern in regards to how Leon might fare against Major League pitching, even if Leon does show good power than he does make contact. He has plus speed (86 steals in 121 attempts at Sugar Land) and a very strong throwing arm but is considered an average fielder at best, likely suited for corner outfield work.
Kyle Tucker’s continued stint on the injured list has left a big hole in Houston’s outfield, though it might be hard for Leon to find consistent playing time with Trey Cabbage, Chas McCormick, and utilityman Mauricio Dubon ahead of him on the depth chart. Leon is a right-handed hitter, adding to an Astros roster that already tilts toward the right side.