Leandro Cespedes
| IP | 425 |
|---|---|
| ERA | 4.871 |
| WHIP | 1.473 |
| BB/9 | 3.409 |
| SO/9 | 8.661 |
- Full name Leandro Cespedes
- Born 04/19/1987 in Azua, Dominican Republic
- Profile Ht.: 5'11" / Wt.: 160 / Bats: R / Throws: R
Top Rankings
Organization Prospect Rankings
-
Trying to gauge Cespedes after his emergence last year is like trying to size up the new kid in school: Should the guys dig in to protect their turf, or will he just be lost in the shuffle? Cespedes was the best pitcher on a lackluster Lexington staff in 2008, building on his reputation as a strikeout machine by ranking fifth in the South Atlantic League in K's. He's not a big guy, with comparisons to Ramon Ortiz for his body type, and his fastball sits around 87-91 mph. He also throws a slider and splitter, with the splitter the better pitch right now. The splitter shows occasional sweep and decent bite, while the slider flattens out too often. Cespedes doesn't have great downward plane on his pitches, and out of a three-quarters delivery has a bad habit of throwing across his body. But he shows no fear and attacks hitters, sometimes too much. The Astros like his growing confidence, though, and point to his second-half numbers last year when his ERA dropped by more than three runs and he struck out 82 in 70 innings. He will move on to Lancaster in 2009.
