Pedro León Continues to Turn Heads With Trade Deadline Looming and Astros In Need of a Power Bat
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Pedro León may very well have the loudest tools in the Astros system. He can fly on the base paths, has a cannon of an arm, and hits no-doubt big flies with the best of them. He's also got some holes in his game, as evidenced by his 319 career strikeouts with only 137 walks to his name.
If León can put it all together, he's no doubt a big-league contributor. It appears to once highly-touted prospect is doing just that.
On the season, León is hitting .264 with 11 home runs and an .833 OPS.
He got off to a slow start in April, but showed some signs of life in May, hitting .245 with a .747 OPS. Once the calendar flipped to June, León exploded. He has hit .323 this month, hitting five of his 11 home runs on the season. He's also walked 10 times and only struck out 21 times, the best single month walk-to-strikeout ratio León has posted. All of thos numbers add up to an 1.101 OPS in June.
Last week, León posted arguably the best week of his career. Over the five games he played last week, León hit .474 with two doubles, two triples, and a home run. He hit for the cycle on Friday, albeit after stopping at first base for a single on a ball he hit off the wall in deep center.
All together, León hit .474 last week with a 1.565 OPS.
It's no secret the Astros need some help at the deadline this year. They need some power bats to boost their .718 OPS as a team.
León finally putting his tools together could make him more attractive in trade talks elsewhere. He mirrors another toolsy player that toiled in the minors for a long time that Houston just traded.
Jose Siri has posted a 1.4 bWAR and an .845 OPS as the everyday center fielder for the Rays. Like León, he still has prodigious swing-and-miss capabilities, but his loud talents make up for it. León's breakout could play a huge role in the Astros trading him to a team willing to give him everyday big league reps in exchange for a deadline rental.
He's likely blocked in Houston with their outfield logjam and Jeremy Peña holding down the fort at shortstop, but if Houston is to land a big bat at the deadline, Pedro León's breakout could very well be the reason why.