The lower minors are formatted differently these days, with Single-A playing more like rookie or short-season leagues of the past, but
Leo De Vries' summer run as a 17-year-old in the Cal League brought to mind past debuts from elite international signees like Vladimir Guerrero and Wander Franco. There were already whispers about De Vries' bat being extremely special before his signing ($4.2 million bonus) with San Diego was official Jan. 15, and indeed, he skipped over both the Dominican Summer League and the Arizona Complex League. De Vries hit .195 with zero home runs and a 26 percent strikeout rate in his first 31 games and slashed .267/.393/.534 with 11 home runs, nine steals and a 21.5 percent strikeout rate in his final 44 games. Even when factoring in his poor start, he was 16 percent better than the average Cal League hitter while being over a year younger than the next youngest qualified hitter on the circuit. He was predictably overmatched in the Arizona Fall League, but De Vries, who turned 18 in October, did become the youngest prospect to homer in the AFL since Bryce Harper in 2010. De Vries has a pretty classic shortstop build at 6-foot, 183 pounds, and he hits home runs to all fields more due to his barrel control and ability to work his way into hitters' counts, rather than premium raw power. If the switch-hitting prodigy reaches his ceiling, his fantasy production will be similar to that of Francisco Lindor, contributing significantly across the board with a lengthy prime. He is on track to be up sometime in 2026, or potentially early 2027.
