Slugger León's promotion 'a dream come true'

This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart’s Astros Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

HOUSTON -- Outfielder Pedro León (the Astros' No. 24 prospect) has had some of the best tools in Houston's Minor League system for the past few years. He has tremendous power from the right side of the plate, is an above-average runner and has a plus arm. And now, he’s finally getting his chance to display those tools in the big leagues.

The Astros promoted León from Triple-A Sugar Land prior to Tuesday's 6-2 loss to the Pirates. He took over Joey Loperfido’s place on the 26-man roster as a backup outfielder. Loperfido was one of three young players the Astros traded to the Blue Jays on Monday for veteran left-hander Yusei Kikuchi. León joins the Astros after he played 408 games in the Minor Leagues, including 353 in Triple-A.

“This is a dream come true,” he said.

Called a “rapid mover to the big leagues” when he signed in 2021 for $4 million, León reached Sugar Land on July 19 that season and had been there since. The Astros tried him as middle infielder in the Minor Leagues, but they have since scrapped that idea. Finding him a position and working on his career 33 percent strikeout rate have kept him in the Minors.

“He’s been working so hard for so many years, and just getting the opportunity now, I’m excited for him,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “He has done things that we’ve asked him to do to make some adjustments in his swing, his defense. We all know about his speed, and I’m just really happy for him that he’s getting an opportunity.”

When León makes contact, he’s shown impressive power for his 5-foot-9, 170-pound frame. He hit a Statcast-projected 477-foot homer on July 29, 2023, in Las Vegas. On April 27 of this year, he hit a 479-foot homer in Reno, Nev. In 93 games with Sugar Land this year, he had a .297/.377/.519 slash line with 62 runs, 21 doubles, 19 home runs, 74 RBIs, and 37 walks. He is the Sugar Land franchise leader in hits (330), total bases (590), doubles (73), home runs (57), RBIs (211), stolen bases (86) and runs scored (218).

“I’m just trusting the process,” León said.

Espada said he’s seen León grow and mature the last three years.

“I had a conversation with him earlier today and [noticed] how more calm he is,” he said. “I thought he was going to get a little bit more overwhelmed, but he’s not at all. We’ll see when he gets into the game. I’ve been talking to [Sugar Land manager] Mickey [Storey] about his progress, and [León] understands what his strengths and weaknesses are. And I think he did a really good job covering those weaknesses and making the good parts of his game even better. It would be cool to watch him here in the next couple of weeks and see where he’s at.”

León’s locker inside the Minute Maid Park clubhouse is next to fellow Cuban Yordan Alvarez. The Astros re-signed veteran utility player Aledmys Díaz, who’s also from Cuba, to a Minor League deal on July 13 and selected his contract on July 22, giving León a pair of role models and sounding boards to help his career get started.

“I’m very glad to be able to share the moment with a couple of countrymen,” León said. “I had the opportunity to spend time with [Alvarez] in Spring Training, and thankfully I’m going to be able to do it here as well.”