Once hailed as Astros’ next ‘everyday center fielder,’ Pedro León is at a crossroads

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Before Pedro León ever played a professional game or stepped onto American soil, he loomed as an answer to the Houston Astros’ annual question. Houston ceded stability in center field when George Springer signed with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2021, but the organization believed this ballyhooed Cuban prospect could soon provide it.

Houston handed León the largest signing bonus of any player in the 2021 international signing class, authoring the sort of international splash not seen since Yuli Gurriel’s addition in 2016. Given León arrived as a 22-year-old — as opposed to international amateur free agents from other countries who sign at 16 or 17 — Houston believed he could advance quickly.

Adding León augmented a thinning farm system and addressed a position of need. The day his $4 million deal got announced, prepared statements from the club praised León as “a rapid mover to the big leagues” and “an everyday center fielder.”

“The expectations are we want Mickey Mantle out of him — speed, arm, power,” Houston’s longtime Triple-A manager, Mickey Storey, said. “Sometimes it’s just not quite that. It’s been a process.”

That's THREE for León!

The Space Cowboys infielder has his first three-homer game of his career! #ReadyToRide pic.twitter.com/bXSSt546BA

— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) August 13, 2023

The process is nearing a potential crossroads. León will enter his fourth professional season still searching for any semblance of consistency, a path that proves how inexact player development can be. He still possesses some of the premier tools in Houston’s farm system but is nowhere near major-league-ready.

León is only 25, but he has already eclipsed 1,100 plate appearances in Triple A with a .765 OPS and 28.7 percent strikeout rate. He did not appear in The Athletic’s Keith Law’s preseason rankings of the top 20 Astros prospects. Last season, Law ranked León No. 8.

“Let’s be real — part of being a major-league player is the consistency aspect. Pedro’s had a hard time being consistent,” Storey said. “I think a lot of it is a mental space he’s in where it’s just like the expectations are weighing heavy and he wants to do a lot. There’s definitely the ability. We see it. There’s times where he’s the best player in the league and he could get the opportunity, but it’s riding out that consistency that we hope to see more of.”

Injuries have impacted León’s trajectory. So has the transition to a new country and a more professional environment — amid a pandemic, no less. Most international free agents face those hurdles, but Houston exacerbated it with a curious decision to cross-train León as a middle infielder, placing more pressure on a young player already feeling too much of it.

The team touted León as an elite defensive center fielder yet forced him to start 121 of his first 315 minor-league games at second base or shortstop. Team officials lauded León’s natural athleticism and believed it could manifest itself in the middle infield. That he already demonstrated above-average defense in center field factored into the decision, too.

“It wasn’t designed to place such a burden where he failed. It was, ‘We think you can handle this, and if you can, it’s going to give you multiple avenues to the big leagues,’” Storey said.

“We almost took the outfield play for granted, the ability for granted. Like, ‘He’s going to be this player; it’s a given. Let’s try to do this and see: Can we create a monster?’”

Seventy one percent of the earth is covered by water, the other 29 percent is covered by Pedro León. pic.twitter.com/d77ajfhSQX

— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) June 12, 2022

Instead, Houston might have made a mess. The team will try to correct course this season, one in which León has been told he will transition back to a full-time outfielder.

Through an interpreter, León claimed balancing both positions “didn’t affect me a ton,” but coaches who’ve worked closely with him disagree. It’s unclear who made the decision — Houston is on its third farm director of León’s four-year tenure with the organization — but the timing is no accident. In December, León will be Rule 5 draft-eligible for the first time, putting the onus on the team to either add him to its 40-man roster or risk losing him to another club without any compensation.

“It hit him really hard mentally,” Astros hitting coach Alex Cintrón said of León’s infield cameo. “That’s a position that he is not used to playing and he was learning. He wanted to do really well, and I think that combination of the frustration in trying to learn a position and, now, to just be relaxed and play only the outfield is going to help. This is a big year for him to show the kind of player he can be.”

Cintrón spent his winter as an assistant general manager for Criollos de Caguas in the Puerto Rican winter league, managed this season by St. Louis Cardinals legend Yadier Molina. León appeared in five games for the club, cranked a three-run home run and worked four walks in 16 plate appearances.

Cintrón said León launched a few more well-struck fly balls that fell just short of home runs in the league’s spacious ballparks, but holes in his swing and approach are obvious. León struggles to lay off chase breaking balls and, according to Cintrón, has also become susceptible to high fastballs. The team is working with León to shorten his swing and lower his hands to get the barrel of his bat into the strike zone quicker.

“He just needs to be healthy,” Cintrón said. “He’s already shown what he can do at Triple A. Now he just needs to show us and everybody else that he can cut his strikeouts and be a better hitter overall. He (needs) to be more selective and look for his pitches to do damage.”

Adios Pedro!

León leaves the ballpark and the Space Cowboys add to their lead in the third! pic.twitter.com/IgaWIOIOcO

— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) July 27, 2023

León has enough natural power in his compact, 5-foot-8 frame to produce extra-base hits, and instincts that still make him an intriguing prospect. He stole 59 bases and smacked 38 home runs across the past two seasons in Triple A. But he is far too inconsistent to be a viable major-league option.

“For me, I’m happy where I’m at,” León said. “I trust my process and trust the organization’s process as well because they ask a lot of me and the things that I can do. If I make it to that level, I don’t just want to make it; I want to make it and be established.”

Time still exists for León to achieve his goal. He is still relatively young, and Houston’s center-field situation remains as unsettled as it was when he arrived. But fellow prospects Jacob Melton, Joey Loperfido and Kenedy Corona have passed him in the organizational pecking order.

León had what Storey called a “sneaky-solid year” last season, slashing .244/.343/.435 at Triple-A Sugar Land. Still, he struck out 160 times in 564 plate appearances. His defense in center field has dipped somewhat, according to Storey, who assigned some blame to the balancing act León had to strike between the infield and outfield.

“He’s got the ability to really range in the gaps, make plays. He’s got the strong arm. I think a little bit of the moving around to the outfield and the infield hindered a little bit of the high-end outfield play,” Storey said. “He wasn’t getting the regular work out there, especially early on; he was predominantly playing infield. The outfield play was kind of missing a little bit.”

Something similar happened with Myles Straw, another natural center fielder whom Houston exposed to the infield. When the experiment ended, it took an entire season for Straw’s center-field defense to regain its peak form. Storey presumes the same will happen with León. Whether it will arrive in time to make a meaningful major-league impact is a mystery.

“It hasn’t been a smooth ride, but currently, I like where he’s at,” Storey said. “He’s learned a lot over the last two years. This is definitely a big year for him. We would like him to make that jump, but I know he’s putting pressure on himself. I think last year there was heavy pressure internally for himself. I think this year it’s more, ‘I have to go do my thing. I have to go out and play.’”

Added León: “I definitely feel different. As a player and a person, I think I’ve matured and I’ve been able to put into practice a lot of the things we’ve talked about and things that I’ve learned. I’m trying to put those things into practice, just trying to be better and learn.”

(Photo of Pedro León attempting to rob a home run this spring: Jim Rassol / USA Today)