Padres Prospect Leo De Vries Earns Big Ranking Bump From MLB Pipeline

[Billy Mock]

At the top of an intriguing farm system in San Diego is Leo De Vries, the third overall ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline's latest update of their top 100 prospects in baseball. De Vries came into the season at 14th overall, but made the move into the top three thanks to a few players graduating off the list and a hot start to his season at High-A Fort Wayne. 

De Vries arrived in San Diego as the top-ranked international free agent in the 2024 international signing class, signing for $4.2 million out of the Dominican Republic. Upon his introduction to professional baseball, De Vries got off to a solid start with Low-A Lake Elsinore last year. He hit .237/.361/.441, good for an .803 OPS and a 116 wRC+. What stood out about his rookie season in the minors was his eleven home runs over 360 plate appearances. It's pretty rare to see a player as young as De Vries to reach the double-digit mark in their first year of full-season ball. He was only 17 years old for the entirety of last year, and only seven other hitters aged 18 or younger in the minors hit as many home runs. Only one other 17-year-old managed to hit more (Emil Morales, LAD). 

The switch-hitting shortstop made the jump to High-A to start the season and has been even better thus far in 2025. In a third of the plate appearances he had in 2024, he's up to four home runs while hitting an improved .288/.375/.519 with an .894 OPS and a 147 wRC+. Among players 18 years old or younger this year in full-season ball, his OPS leads all hitters while his wRC+ ranks third. Despite moving up a level, his strikeout rate has decreased while he has improved in the power department. The strikeout rate has decreased to 19.0 from 23.3 last year, while he has maintained the same walk rate, along with an increase in slugging percentage and isolated power (.231). These are definitely some tangible improvements to the stat line that you typically want to see year over year from your top prospects. He's certainly a dynamic hitter and showed why a few weeks ago when he hit for the cycle on April 22nd against the High-A Lansing Lugnuts (Athletics). 

He has hit from both sides of the plate very well, posting a 1.005 OPS as a right-handed hitter thus far and an .853 OPS as a left-handed hitter. He has definitely shown more power as a righty, with seven of his eleven home runs last year coming from the right side despite having over 100 more plate appearances as a lefty. Regardless, it's still an above-average hit tool from the left side that should tap into more power as he progresses through the minors. 

De Vries's defensive skills at shortstop and athleticism on the bases are really what complete him as an all-around ballplayer. As for his speed, glove, and arm, it's a 55 grade across the board. He's an above-average player in every facet of the game, which is what ultimately makes him elite. He certainly has a lot of time for his tools to develop further into true value at the big league level.

De Vries's ranking as the third-best prospect in all of baseball puts him in elite company. Among other elite shortstop prospects such as Marcelo Mayer, Carson Williams, and Sebastian Walcott, De Vries finds himself at the top as the most anticipated shortstop prospect in the game. His estimated arrival time in San Diego is approximately early 2027, but he can easily accelerate that timeline given his current trajectory. The Padres have been more patient with their prospects than other teams, which leads me to believe that some time next year is when we'll get a look at De Vries in a Padres uniform. He has already appeared in two major league spring trainings and is playing far above his projected level as an 18-year-old. 

 

 

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