Landon Leach
| IP | 125 |
|---|---|
| ERA | 4.464 |
| WHIP | 1.456 |
| BB/9 | 5.04 |
| SO/9 | 7.776 |
- Full name Landon Leach
- Born 07/12/1999 in Toronto, ON, Canada
- Profile Ht.: 6'4" / Wt.: 220 / Bats: R / Throws: R
- School Pickering
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Drafted in the 2nd round (37th overall) by the Minnesota Twins in 2017 (signed for $1,400,000).
View Draft Report
Leach opened eyes on the national scene with a strong showing at the Rivalry Classic at Fenway Park in the fall, and he showed progress with the Canadian Junior National team in the spring. The top Canadian prospect in the class came up through the Toronto Mets travel program. He hasn't been pitching for very long, but he has a large, durable frame and plus arm speed. Leach's fastball peaked at 93 in the fall, but worked at 90-94 and tickled 95 in the spring. Leach gets heavy sink on his fastball and is tough to square up when he's locating his stuff down in the strike zone. He's a good athlete, has a repeatable delivery and shows flashes with his slurvy breaking ball, giving scouts reason to believe that his best days are still ahead of him. His breaking ball shows natural three-quarter break along the same path of Leach's arm slot and it has occassional power bite to it, with hard-and-late snapping action. Leach's relative inexperience makes him a risky pick, but his quick growth, body and athleticism could entice a team to pounce on him as early as day one.
Top Rankings
Organization Prospect Rankings
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Track Record: Nagging shoulder issues limited Leach to just seven Gulf Coast League outings in his first full pro season, but he used the downtime to work on his body. Already blessed with a pitcher’s frame, the converted catcher now deadlifts 500 pounds and could take a big step forward in 2019, when he won’t turn 20 until mid-July.
Scouting Report: The first Canadian player taken in the 2017 draft, Leach landed on the Twins’ radar that spring on a Florida tour with the Canadian Junior National Team. He grew two inches and added 25 pounds of good weight in the months before the draft. Signed under slot for $1.4 million, Leach pitches at 90-94 mph and has touched 97. His sharp-breaking 84-86 mph slider has plus potential, his 78-80 mph curve is average and he has a good feel for his changeup at 79-81 mph. Fluent in French with a serious personality, Leach’s hockey background shows through in his mound presence and high-end competitiveness. He repeats his delivery well and knows how to use his height to work downhill, which helped produced a 23.7 percent swinging-strike rate last season.
The Future: Leach should get his first taste of the Midwest League in 2019, where the early-season cold weather shouldn’t bother him a bit. -
The first Canadian player taken in the 2017 draft, Leach is a converted catcher who caught the eye of Twins' scouts during the spring while touring Florida with the Canadian Junior National Team. That gave the Twins 10-plus looks at him as he grew two inches and packed on 25 pounds of muscle in the months leading up to the draft. Used sporadically as a closer off the mound as a high school senior, Leach signed for $1.4 million as a second-round pick (slot was $1.85 million). With his frame and repertoire, he draws comparisons to countryman Mike Siroka, a 2015 first-round pick of the Braves. Leach pitches at 90-94 mph, touching 97 mph with his fastball. He also features a sharp-breaking 84-86 mph slider and a present-average curve he throws at 78-80 mph. Now a full-time starter still learning a professional pitcher's routine, he also shows a good feel for his changeup at 79-81 mph. Due to his conversion and cold-weather background, Leach carries a good bit of projection even after his growth spurt. Fluent in French and serious and focused off the field, the former junior hockey player shows good mound presence and high-end competitiveness. He repeats his delivery well and has taken steps to correct some pre-draft lapses into drop-and-drive.
Draft Prospects
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Leach opened eyes on the national scene with a strong showing at the Rivalry Classic at Fenway Park in the fall, and he showed progress with the Canadian Junior National team in the spring. The top Canadian prospect in the class came up through the Toronto Mets travel program. He hasn't been pitching for very long, but he has a large, durable frame and plus arm speed. Leach's fastball peaked at 93 in the fall, but worked at 90-94 and tickled 95 in the spring. Leach gets heavy sink on his fastball and is tough to square up when he's locating his stuff down in the strike zone. He's a good athlete, has a repeatable delivery and shows flashes with his slurvy breaking ball, giving scouts reason to believe that his best days are still ahead of him. His breaking ball shows natural three-quarter break along the same path of Leach's arm slot and it has occassional power bite to it, with hard-and-late snapping action. Leach's relative inexperience makes him a risky pick, but his quick growth, body and athleticism could entice a team to pounce on him as early as day one.
