Astros: Is Pedro Leon a late-season call up?

The Astros promoted Pedro Leon, the top position player prospect, to Triple-A on Sunday.

The anticipation to see Pedro Leon at the major-league level is brewing more and more with each passing month, but a recent promotion to Sugar Land Skeeters, as reported by Francys Romero, could be a sign that he is called up late in the season.

The Houston Astros have something special in Leon with his multi-tooled ability and shortstop and outfield gloves; the right-hander is developing versatility to address two positions that are up in the air for 2022. With a currently full 40-man roster, Leon can’t be added without a corresponding move.

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It is no secret that Leon will be a key piece to the Astros down the road, but next season looks to be his best time to show what he has. We don’t know the state of the roster comes September or even if there will be room, but if injuries occur or a player is lacking behind, Leon could easily take the spot and come up for his debut.

They wouldn’t be asking for the world in a late-season call up; it is more of an acclimation to the club house and evaluation for next season. With a Double-A slash line of .249/.359/.443, the right-hander has immensely turned his season around and adjusted to a higher level of baseball, after missing a full season in 2020 and defecting from Cuba in 2019.

It will be interesting to see what position Leon plays the most in Triple-A, while he played 337 innings at short and 77 innings in center with the Corpus Christi Hooks. This is a huge difference for a player changing positions, but with four or five outfielders already on the roster, Leon could be platooning the shortstop position with C.J. Hinojosa and Alex De Goti.