Arnold Leon

by CaliforniaJag on Aug 30, 2009 6:46 PM PDT

I just had to make a FanPost. I'm falling for you, Arnold Leon. Maybe it's your 0.66 ERA in your six starts this year for Midland at the ripe old age of 20? Maybe it's that you've already advanced to AA before your 21st birthday? Maybe it's your 27/5 K/BB ratio as a starter? Or maybe it's your miniscule 0.70 WHIP during those same starts? Who knows. Whatever it is, Arnold Leon, you are officially my favorite A's pitching prospect. May your dominance continue all the way to Oakland.

Anyone else falling for Arnold Leon?

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Anyone have a scouting report on him?

He a power pitcher? Finesse/control guy? I don’t know much of anything about him past his numbers, which are pretty encouraging.

by walk off bunt on Aug 30, 2009 6:53 PM PDT reply actions

Low ninties sneaky fast ball that gets up to 94 and has sink

with a good slider/curve and developing change IIRC from last years BA Prospect book. Now its been are really long time since I went to the library to pick it up but thats what I remember, though the offspeed stuff could be wrong.

The Halos announcers sound like frat boys at a kegger… Ken Korach calls a game like a grown-ass man - Emperor Nobody

by designatedforassignment on Aug 30, 2009 8:11 PM PDT up reply actions

Apparently he has a mid 60s curveball...

"Life is a horizontal fall" -Jean Cocteau

by King Richard on Aug 30, 2009 9:47 PM PDT up reply actions

Maybe it's his 9Ks and 0BBs in 5.2IP, on only 84 pitches today...

"Life is a horizontal fall" -Jean Cocteau

by King Richard on Aug 30, 2009 6:53 PM PDT reply actions

Add in dominating the mexican winter/summer leagues at age 19

I believe they say the talent level is equivalent to the AAA level

by Asfan4ever723 on Aug 30, 2009 7:22 PM PDT reply actions

That's optimistic... I wouldn't really agree with that assessment

Calling it AA level isn’t implausible though. Either way, it’s clearly a major accomplishment.

Linda's in the cold ground, won't see her anymore
Somewhere out on the highway tonight, the drunken engines roar
It's just one of those things, one of those things
-- Al Stewart, "Accident on 3rd St."
In memory of Nick Adenhart and all victims of drunk driving

by PaulThomas on Aug 30, 2009 8:41 PM PDT up reply actions

In fairness

Isn’t Mexcian league = AAA the standard (though as you say inaccurate) line?

"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want" -Bill Watterson

by nevermoor on Aug 30, 2009 10:08 PM PDT up reply actions

It's the pravda line of milb.com, if that's what you mean by "standard", yes

by PaulThomas on Aug 30, 2009 11:02 PM PDT up reply actions

Yes, exactly

"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want" -Bill Watterson

by nevermoor on Aug 31, 2009 10:06 AM PDT up reply actions

You're not alone

I’ve been a big fan of his for a couple years now but that was based on pure projection at that time. Now that he’s actually in the upper-minors and performing very well it makes it a lot easier to be a fan.

"Their batters are patient to the point that it's annoying." -Ryan Franklin

by Helloooo 1st on Aug 30, 2009 8:02 PM PDT reply actions

Is he the team's best pitching prospect?

I guess it’s still Ynoa, but….

It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver

by WaddellCanseco on Aug 30, 2009 8:06 PM PDT reply actions

Don’t forget about Capra as well.

The Ultimate Opportunist

by Rated-R Superstar on Aug 30, 2009 8:58 PM PDT up reply actions

FDLS

Honestly I would rather have him than Ynoa

The Halos announcers sound like frat boys at a kegger… Ken Korach calls a game like a grown-ass man - Emperor Nobody

by designatedforassignment on Aug 30, 2009 9:01 PM PDT up reply actions

Yes, FDLS was the top pitching prospect before he got hurt

But now Leon would be ahead of him as far as the level he is playing in.
The poor A’s have Cahill, Anderson, Mazzaro and Gio who should all be better next year and then they have FDLS, Outman (both of whom are hopefully as good as they were before), Leon, Capra, Ynoa. Can the A’s have a 7 or 8 man starting rotation ? ;-)

"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, either way, YOU'RE RIGHT !"

by Eastbayjim on Aug 30, 2009 9:14 PM PDT up reply actions

Im not saying that FDLS > Leon

When I made my top prospects list Leon hadn’t really shown that he was healthy after being hurt earlier in the year. The whole mysterious arm injury and not pitching thing scares me a lot about Ynoa.

The Halos announcers sound like frat boys at a kegger… Ken Korach calls a game like a grown-ass man - Emperor Nobody

by designatedforassignment on Aug 30, 2009 9:30 PM PDT up reply actions

Ynoa

My personal opinion is that Latin prospects cannot really be rated until they actually show up and pitch well in Arizona Rookie League or higher. I have been scared of the whole Ynoa hype since day one. I hope he turns out OK.

by redtopcowboy on Aug 31, 2009 9:24 AM PDT up reply actions

I like how conservative the A's are being with him

He young enough and potentially good enough that I’m glad to see him shut down as long as it takes for him to protect his arm.

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Aug 31, 2009 3:27 PM PDT up reply actions

This

"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want" -Bill Watterson

by nevermoor on Aug 31, 2009 3:30 PM PDT up reply actions

I'm foolishly proud of the fact that my first positive comment w/r/t Leon

was made on November 21, 2007.

by PaulThomas on Aug 30, 2009 8:49 PM PDT reply actions

Don't be... youre who I learned about him from and were definately a head of the curve on him.

The Halos announcers sound like frat boys at a kegger… Ken Korach calls a game like a grown-ass man - Emperor Nobody

by designatedforassignment on Aug 30, 2009 8:59 PM PDT up reply actions

What DFA said

PT has a knack for being ahead of the curve on prospects, and frankly if PT starts talking about a guy I look him up. PT knows his stuff.

"I feel like we are sending Danny Haren for Mulder all over again." - Cardinal fan on the Matt Holliday trade

"But at this time of year, two plus two doesn't always add up to eight. Sometimes, it equals four." - Geoff Baker, Mariners beat writer.

by Orodawg on Aug 30, 2009 9:37 PM PDT up reply actions

+this

PT knows his stuff

PREPAREDNESS_Because those goddamn zombies aren’t going to kill themselves

by adragon on Sep 1, 2009 7:00 PM PDT up reply actions

"Don't be" = ?

Don’t be proud? Or do be proud but not foolishly?

"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan

by iglew on Aug 31, 2009 4:36 PM PDT up reply actions

Be proud but not foolishly

Chris Carter entered a villiage where an ogre had devoured all the crops and livestock, and Chris Carter asked the people of the village, "Have you no beasts of labor with which to pay tribute me?" And the people answered, "No, the ogre has taken our livestock," and with one mighty swing of his bat Chris Carter felled the ogre, and Chris Carter did proclaim, "Let my people be free," and it was so. - Aufheben

by designatedforassignment on Aug 31, 2009 11:17 PM PDT up reply actions

Or if he preferred Byrnes over a package of Leon and Kotsay...

he’d be foolshly proud

by easyraider on Sep 1, 2009 12:54 PM PDT up reply actions

The community was fairly high on him from the start

Check out this prospect ranking list from Jan 2008

Paul’s method of calculating the weights of our prospect lists had us collectively rating him as the #18 prospect in our system, ahead of some pretty good guys, and this before he threw a pitch for us.

That’s actually a real interesting discussion to look back on…

by jakarta on Aug 30, 2009 9:47 PM PDT up reply actions

I remember those days... man there were some bad picks on my list back then...

Rating Sean Doolittle at #26 in the system was particularly stupid— but at least I learned from that never to drop a first-round pick much for mediocre play in an abbreviated season.

I also had Brett Anderson too low relative to the other pitching ‘spects, was suckered by what appears to have been a fluke season from Gregorio Petit, and failed to correctly weight the "all A’s Rule 5 Draft picks are bad at baseball" factor.

by PaulThomas on Aug 30, 2009 11:17 PM PDT up reply actions