Precocious Leodalis De Vries Hits His Stride After Slow Start | Low-A Best Tools
In 2023, the Padres signed Venezuelan catcher Ethan Salas and skipped him over Rookie ball entirely.
He bypassed both the Dominican Summer and Arizona Complex leagues on his way to Low-A Lake Elsinore. Salas required just a little bit of time to marinate in extended spring training.
The result was an outstanding 2023 season that vaulted Salas into the upper echelon of the game’s top prospects.
A year later, San Diego followed the same script with Dominican shortstop Leodalis De Vries, the gem of their most recent international signing class.
Just like Salas, De Vries appeared in Cactus League games during spring training—he also appeared in the inaugural Spring Breakout series—before moving to Low-A for his professional debut.
It took the 17-year-old De Vries some time to warm up, but as the summer wore on he really began to cook.
From July 1 forward, he showed why he was so highly regarded. During that 27-game stretch, De Vries hit .288/.406/.631 with six doubles, a triple and 10 home runs.
His longball total was tied with Red Sox prospect Allan Castro for the most in the entire minor leagues during that span. That’s doubly impressive for a player who is the only 17-year-old in full-season ball.
De Vries’ gifts stretch beyond the batter’s box. His defensive chops were strong enough to win the Best Defensive Shortstop category in the California League in this year’s Best Tools survey.
Scouts saw a player with the potential to be an average defender with an average arm, good enough to one day hold down the position in the big leagues.
De Vries also claimed the title of Most Exciting Player and in a survey of Cal League managers.
Now, he ranks behind only Salas as the Padres’ No. 2 prospect and is quickly climbing the Top 100 Prospects.
