Luis De León can be the Orioles secret weapon

It’s no secret that the Orioles have a problem developing pitching under the Mike Elias regime. When Brandon Young debuted for the O’s last April, he became the first undrafted free agent to debut for the Baltimore since 2019. A month later, Kade Strowd became the first pitcher drafted by Elias to debut for the Orioles. There has yet to be a second.

That track record may start to turn around in 2026, however, and the biggest name to watch is soon-to-be 23-year-old Luis De León. I’ll be the first to admit

that seeing De León rise to the status of Baltimore’s No.1 pitching prospect when MLB.com released the Orioles updated Top 30 prospect list last week. After all, Trey Gibson is the Orioles’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year and many prospect prognosticators spent ample time in 2025 hyping up 19-year-old right-hander Esteban Mejia.

However, after seeing the latest clips of De León to come out of Sarasota, it’s clear why the lanky lefty from the Dominican Republic has distinguished himself from all other Orioles pitching prospects. He’s only faced 10 batters so far this Spring, giving up one hit and striking out two. However, what’s popped off the screen in those ten plate appearances is the outrageous repertoire the young lefty possesses.

De León’s two go-to pitches are his sinker and slider. The sinker has become the primary weapon of choice for many top lefties across the league. Phillies All-Star hurler Cristopher Sánchez led all of baseball last year with 19 Run Value of his sinker, on his way to an 8.0 WAR season and a second-place finish in NL Cy Young voting. Orioles’ failed free agency target Framber Valdez also leaned heavily on his sinker during a strong 2025, while AL Cy Young runner-up Garrett Crochet uses his sinker as his go-to pitch in left-on-left matchups.

What distinguishes De León’s sinking fastball from the game’s top lefties is its sheer velocity. Sánchez and Valdez both sat around 94-95mph with their sinkers. Crochet’s sinker had a little more heat, sitting around 96mph and approaching triple digits on occasion. The Orioles’ young lefty can run his sinker up into the high 90s, putting him in elite company with some of the MLB’s top southpaws.

The Orioles’ top pitching prospect pairs that high-velocity sinker with a wipe-out slider that he’s comfortable throwing to both righties and lefties. Against the Braves on Saturday, 14 of his 29 pitches were sliders, with six to RHBs and eight to LHBs. Chris Sale is the gold standard for lefty sliders, and while De León has a slightly smaller frame than Sale, he has a similar low arm slot that helps create whip on his breaking ball.

The lefty rounds out a five-pitch mix with a four-seamer that also reaches the upper 90s, a mid 80’s changeup with some run that mirrors his sinker and a splitter in the low 80’s. The off-speed offerings are still playing catch-up with the fastballs and slider, but MLB.com’s write-up on De León notes that “all [five] can be plus pitches because De León throws everything with good arm speed and angle when his mechanics are clicking.”

A good changeup can give De León a strong plan of attack against right-handed batters. Reigning, two-time AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal led baseball last year with 25 Run Value on changeups. It was also his primary pitch against RHBs, throwing 34% changes against righties.

De León uses his sinker to churn out ground balls, producing nearly two groundball outs for every flyout. The changeup then becomes a great out pitch he can tunnel off the sinker, keeping hitters off balance thanks to the 10+ mph difference between the two pitches. The shape of the pitches should give him a similar sinker/changeup combo to what we’d seen previously from Yennier Cano—but with a bigger speed difference that should make De Leon’s changeup more effective.

If he can hone his splitter as well, it’d give him an arsenal you just don’t see in left-handed starters. Of all lefty starters last year, only the Cubs’ Shota Imanaga prominently featured a splitter as part of his arsenal. And while Imanaga’s splitter also sits in the low 80’s, the Japanese southpaw’s average fastball velocity barely tops 90mph. A refined splitter would give the lefty a natural complement to his four-seamer, allowing him to attack the top of the zone with the heater before making hitters look foolish on a low splitter. Otherwise known as the Félix Bautista approach.

That’s not to say the soon-to-be 23-year-old doesn’t have flaws as a prospect. His control is still a work in progress, as is often the case with young pitchers with plus stuff and high strikeout numbers. The young lefty posted an 11 K/9 rate across three levels last season, including racking 24 Ks in 16 innings to end the season at Double-A. However, he also put up 4.2 BB/9, a number that would’ve been second-worst among qualified MLB starters last year. Those control concerns popped up again during his stint in the Arizona Fall League, where he struck out 22 batters in 16.1 innings but also walked 12.

Many, including De León himself, expect the lefty to reach the majors sometime this year. Given the number of major league-proven starters the front office brought in this offseason, it seems unlikely that the young Dominican will crack the rotation upon his arrival in Baltimore.

However, he has a chance to make a big impact in a multi-inning relief role—similar to what we’ve seen from other top left-handed prospects to begin their career. Both Sale and Crochet were relievers for their first two seasons with the White Sox before transitioning to starters in their third full season. Former Cy Young winner David Price debuted in the bullpen for the Rays, even closing some playoff games in their run to the 2008 World Series. If the Orioles find themselves in contention down the stretch, De León could be the secret weapon they need to get Baltimore back to October.