Background: Kelvin De Leon was the key free agent international signing for the Yankees in 2007. Born in Boca Chica De Leon is a 6’2” 180 lb outfielder that first caught scouts eyes in 2006. The Dominican Republic native De Leon signed for 1.2 million dollars as a 16 year old. Some will remember De Leon as the first piece to the scouting scandal that was uncovered in 2008 (De Leon unknowingly was fleeced for 100K by two MLB scouts). As an extremely raw potential talent the Yankees decided to send him to the Dominican summer league in 2008.

2008

De Leon’s big problem early was defense. The first day of minor league spring training in 2008, De Leon took an improper route to a ball in right centerfield and knocked out CJ Henry who was playing center. The admittedly raw De Leon made it a goal to prioritize defense when he was sent south for the summer but it was his bat that stood out. De Leon hit .289/.399/.489 with 9 home runs which was part of the 27 extra base hits he compiled in just 235 at bats. He didn’t have two consecutive games without at least 1 hit until the last 3 of his season. More importantly, coaches and scouts came away more impressed with his effort and recognized his improving defense. Typical for young players, he did struggle with pitch recognition and strikeouts. De Leon struck out 74 times in 08 compared to just 34 walks.

2009

De Leon has struggled in his time with the Yankees to overcome the perception that he doesn’t give 100% the entire time he plays. He would have a good chance to prove the doubters wrong the GCL in 2009.

After 2008 De Leon was looking more like a slugger but helped to regain that 5 tool moniker that was associated with his name in 2007. He hit .239/.330/.438 in 201 at bats with 7 home runs, 5 stolen bases and 12 doubles. Again he struggled with the strikeout- 30% of his at bats ended with one. 2009 was more about getting familiar with the United States (he’s still learning English) and improving his overall game. The increase in hustle and uptick in effort was evident for manager Tommy Slater as was De Leon’s defensive improvement. During instructional league play in Dominican Republic, De Leon continued to improve and impressed scouts defensively and again turned heads with his hustle. Additionally its reported evidence of his improved strike zone judgment was seen- he’s still prone to swinging and missing on breaking pitches but seems to have improved his ability to lay off pitches out of the zone.

2010

De Leon will probably start off in the GCL next year unless he does something really impressive during the spring. Much of his game is still very raw and his pitch selection and ability to cut down on the strikeouts has not been improved enough to warrant any sort of promotion. De Leon can mash though and his power to all fields should be interesting to watch in 2010 as he continues to grow into his body. He may see time in Charleston depending on what he can do early in 2010.

Scouting Report

Hitting: De Leon can drive the ball well to all fields. He has easy power the opposite way and the only thing more impressive than the power he’s displayed so far is his future potential. As mentioned earlier De Leon struggles most with pitch recognition however this is fairly typical of international free agents of his ilk. He’s previously displayed patience and the ability to wait on good pitches to hit and most feel that if he develops as expected, he’ll be an offensive force.

Defense: Defense is probably De Leon’s biggest weakness at this point. He has a very good arm and great natural quickness so many feel he’ll easily be able to mature into a great defender. The Yankees have taken the better part of two years in order to teach him proper routes and the ability to read the ball off the bat and the consensus seems to be that it’s paying off. No one is raving about his defensive ability yet but he certainly has a room to be at worst, an average defender.

Photo Credit: Andres Montana/AP