Astros' Pedro Leon: Plays first spring game Tuesday
Rotowire
Leon (abdomen) played in his first spring game Tuesday without issue, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Leon appeared off the bench in the Astros' split-squad contest against the Cardinals and handled center field for the final two innings. Coming off January surgery to repair a sports hernia, the 24-year-old outfielder said his health is "in perfect condition" leading into the 2023 season. He could make his MLB debut at some point this summer.
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Astros' Pedro Leon: Looks to be healthy again
Rotowire
Leon (abdomen) is listed as an available reserve on the lineup card Tuesday for the Astros' split-squad Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Leon has yet to make his spring debut while recovering from the sports hernia procedure he underwent in mid-January, but the 24-year-old outfielder looks as though he may get the chance to play Tuesday. Kenny Van Doren of KCOU 88.1 FM Columbia notes that Leon resumed facing live pitching earlier this month and has been playing in minor-league games on the back fields at Astros camp, so he's seemingly poised to avoid a stint on the injured list to begin the minor-league season. If he's healthy and productive early on during the season at Triple-A Sugar Land, Leon could be viewed as a solution for the Astros in center field, which was one of Houston's few areas of weakness in its run to the World Series last fall.
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Astros' Pedro Leon: Undergoes sports hernia surgery
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Leon underwent sports hernia surgery Tuesday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Leon is expected to be sidelined for approximately 6-to-8 weeks following the procedure, and he'll be unable to attend major-league spring training as a non-roster invitee. The 24-year-old showed improvement at Triple-A Sugar Land last year, slashing .228/.365/.431 with 17 homers, 71 runs, 63 RBI and 38 stolen bases, and he'll likely be in the mix to make his big-league debut at some point in 2023.
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Astros' Pedro Leon: Sidelined with facial fracture
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Leon was diagnosed Tuesday with a facial fracture and will be placed on Triple-A Sugar Land's 7-day injured list, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Though Leon won't require surgery to address the injury, he's dealing with more than cosmetic damage after he took a fastball to the face during his lone plate appearance in Sugar Land's game Saturday. The 24-year-old has produced an .822 OPS and 32 stolen bases in 395 plate appearances at Triple-A this season, but the injury may close the door on Leon's chances of getting a promotion to the majors in 2022 to take over as Houston's everyday center fielder.
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Astros' Pedro Leon: Racks up 10 steals in 12 games
Rotowire
Leon has hit .324/.519/.568 with two homers, 10 steals and an 11:9 BB:K over his last 12 games for Triple-A Sugar Land.
Despite showing some pop and speed throughout the year, Leon had been struggling to hit for average due to a high strikeout rate -- he went down on strikes at a 30.4 percent clip over his first 61 games while batting just .218. However, ever since going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in consecutive games June 25-26, Leon has been an entirely different hitter across these last dozen contests, posting just a single multi-strikeout effort while drawing walks at a startlingly strong pace and running wild on the basepaths.
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Astros' Pedro Leon: Power on full display
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Leon went 3-for-5 with two home runs and a career-high six RBI in Saturday's game for Triple-A Sugar Land.
He is hitting .333/.444/.784 with five home runs, five steals, a 12.7 BB% and a 28.6 K% over his last 51 at-bats. Leon's power/speed upside is very apparent -- he hit one of his homers clear out of the ballpark to left field Saturday -- but cutting down on the strikeouts will probably be a prerequisite for the Astros giving him the call this season.
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Astros' Pedro Leon: Lots of whiffs with Sugar Land
Rotowire
Leon is hitting .243/.386/.485 across his first 127 plate appearances with Triple-A Sugar Land.
Leon managed only a .033 ISO across 75 plate appearances with Sugar Land to end the 2021 season. While he's increased that mark to .243 in the new campaign, he is still striking out at a 32.3 percent clip. That type of performance isn't likely to earn him a promotion to the majors, but it is worth noting that Leon has played the majority of his games in center field. Chas McCormick is currently the primary center fielder in Houston, but he has just a .301 wOBA to go along with a .238/.286/.393 line. If Leon can show some increased contact ability in the coming weeks, he could still factor into the team's plans at the big-league level in 2022.
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Astros' Pedro Leon: Reinstated from injured list
Rotowire
Leon (finger) was reinstated from the 7-day minor-league injured list Monday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Leon had been sidelined since late July due to a fractured left pinky finger, but he recently began a rehab assignment with the rookie-level Gulf Coast League affiliate and went 2-for-9 with an RBI, a stolen base and two strikeouts across three games. He'll be available at Triple-A Sugar Land for the final days of the season.
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Astros' Pedro Leon: Resumes baseball activities
Rotowire
Leon (finger) recently resumed baseball activities, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Leon suffered a fractured left pinky finger in late July and remains on the injured list, but he's now participating in on-field work. However, it's not yet clear when the 23-year-old will be able to return to game action.
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Astros' Pedro Leon: Suffers fractured finger
Rotowire
Leon suffered a fractured left pinky finger Monday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Leon will miss approximately six weeks after he sustained the injury while sliding into a base Monday. The 23-year-old had appeared in just five games at Triple-A Sugar Land prior to the injury, and he went 5-for-20 with two doubles, five runs, two RBI and two stolen bases during that time.
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Astros' Pedro Leon: Back in action at Double-A
Rotowire
Leon has gone 11-for-32 (.344) with three home runs, two stolen bases, a double and a triple in eight games for Double-A Corpus Christi since returning from a sprained finger July 4.
Leon picked up the injury in late June and was sidelined for about a week and a half before he returned to the lineup. The 23-year-old infielder regained his health just in time for last weekend's All-Star Futures Game, where he played for the American League team and struck out in his lone at-bat. Leon is slashing .250/.353/.455 with a 11.6 percent walk rate and 32.4 percent strikeout rate at Corpus Christi this season, his first in affiliated ball since signing a $4 million deal with Houston over the winter.
