Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Leo Heras: Profiling Recent Signee



     Early this morning the Astros signed 23 year outfielder old Leo Heras. All of a sudden the Wesley Wright deal makes a lot more sense.  Please forgive me for ever doubting you master Luhnow. The 5'9 190 lb. top Mexican league prospect Heras throws right, and swings it lefty. The Astros have made no official announcement, but beat writer Jose de Jesus Ortiz confirmed via Twitter a deal is done; the announcement is most likely pending a physical. The book on Heras reads that he's a speedy versatile outfielder with pop in his stick as well as an above average contact tool to go with a developing walk rate. As recently as 2011, Leo saw playing time at second base, but he spends majority of his time in center and left. Heras is very polished for his age, especially in a league where the average age on a hitter comes in at around 29 years old. Many analysts acknowledge Mexican League play to be equivalent to that of AAA ball; therefore, I would go out on a pretty strong limb and call him an established, near major league ready prospect. Given his advanced play at a competitive level, I would assume at the least he starts at AA Corpus, and may compete for a starting spot this upcoming spring. I'm very excited about this one given his tool-set. Here is a look at his Mexican League numbers via baseball-reference.com and a couple videos sampling his ability along with a spray chart and heat map via mlbfarm.com....


Year
Age
Tm
G
PA
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
SB
CS
BB
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
OPS
19
105
486
442
89
146
21
10
1
46
13
10
30
57
.330
.376
.430
.806
20
96
462
399
58
126
15
8
4
55
11
5
42
45
.316
.379
.424
.803
21
102
497
444
100
152
16
8
18
60
25
9
38
48
.342
.399
.536
.935
22
112
521
455
111
147
18
8
24
64
17
7
53
83
.323
.398
.556
.954
23
91
392
335
81
104
19
9
11
42
14
6
48
73
.310
.398
.519
.917

Heat map



Stud


Older video and stance, but gives you an idea of his pop at 20 years old

   

4 comments:

  1. houston lineup 2016: (not in batting order)
    SS: Carlos Correa
    3b: Brett Wallace or Rio Ruiz or maybe jonathan villar or nolan fontana make the switch over to accommodate correa
    2b: Jose Altuve (what is going to happen with delino deshields - anybody know the answer?)
    1b: Jonathon Singleton
    C: Jason Castro
    P: Mark Appel, Cossart, Lyles, Mccullers, Oberholtzer, Peacock, Foltynewicz, Velazquez, Hader, Wojciechowski, Tropeano and tons of other great young pitchers to round out the rotation and the bullpen
    OF: George Springer, Dominigo Santana, Preston Tucker
    plus the best part none of this is factoring in free agency because when the astros become relevant and they realize it is time to spend to fill the holes, they will have a TON of cash to spend. their entire lineup in 2016 could be on basic rookie type contracts yet they could be amazing plus maybe some free agents to help out!
    WHO IS PUMPED??????? Astros fans stay loyal through these tough times. Bright days are right around the corner.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That's a very good point! There will be a lot of financial flexibility considering all of the young cost controlled guys. Regarding DDJ, if Altuve is in long term plans by the time he is ready, I imagine DeShields moving to LF or possibly DH.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Could you see Delino Deshields moving to third?

      Delete
    2. From the scouting reports I've seen on him I highly doubt it. He doesn't posses a strong arm.

      Delete