Twins in the WBC: De Leon Dazzles in Historic WBC Start

[Seth Stohs]

Current and former Minnesota Twins players are impacting their teams in the World Baseball Classic through the first week of games. Edouard Julien has been doing Edouard Julien things. But Jose De Leon was incredible in his Monday night start for Puerto Rico. 

Image courtesy of Sam Navarro, USA TODAY Sports

The Twins finally got their guy! In January, the Twins quietly signed right-handed pitcher Jose De Leon to a minor-league contract and invited him to big-league spring training.

Yes, this is the same Jose De Leon that the Twins (and Twins fans) coveted back in 2016 when there were Brian Dozier-to-the-Dodgers rumors. The Twins were said to be very interested in the Puerto Rican right-hander, although they were also interested in the likes of Cody Bellinger and another player on a minor league deal with the Twins, RHP Brock Stewart (reportedly). 

On Tuesday night, De Leon made the start for Team Puerto Rico in their matchup against Team Israel. The right-hander started the very first Perfect Game in WBC history as Puerto Rico topped Israel 10-0 in eight innings. De Leon was dazzling. The 30-year-old tossed the first 5 2/3 innings. Obviously, he gave up no hits, walked none, had no errors behind him, and was completely in control. He had a WBC-record 10 strikeouts. 

De Leon showed a very good curveball, a very good slider, and effectively got swings and missed up in and above the zone. 

Team Israel has been sneakily good in recent international competitions. Their lineup in this game included former Twins infielder Danny Valencia, outfielders Joc Peterson and Alex Dickerson, catcher Ryan Lavarnway, and Cubs power prospect Matt Mervis. 

Yacksel Rios replaced De Leon with two outs in the sixth inning. De Leon was at 64 pitches, so he could have pitched to one more batter. Instead, manager Yadier Molina came out and took the ball. De Leon was able to walk off the field in Miami to a huge ovation. 

Edwin Diaz came on and pitched a perfect seventh inning. Duane Underwood pitched the eighth frame. The game ended in the bottom of the eighth inning when Enrique Hernandez singled to score Martin Maldonado to give Puerto Rico a 10-0 lead. With the Mercy Rules of the WBC, the Perfect Game was complete. 

So, where would Jose De Leon fit into the Twins starting pitcher depth chart?

Julien Leads Canada to Win
Team USA and Team Canada are about to start their WBC matchup. Canada's first WBC game came against Great Britain on Sunday afternoon. Twins infielder prospect Edouard Julien, a native of Quebec, was the leadoff hitter and second baseman. 

Great Britain had scored three runs in the top of the first and chased Guardians starter Cal Quantrill after just two outs. 

Julien stepped to the plate for the bottom of the first inning. He got a first-pitch fastball and launched it (110 mph) into the right field seats. While there have been 12 leadoff homers in WBC history, Julien's was the first to come on the first pitch. 

Maybe the British team heard scouting reports on Julien and didn't want to pitch to him after that. He walked the next four times he came to bat to get to Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman and Cardinals outfielder Tyler O'Neill. Canada won that game 18-8.

(Monday Night Update - Former Twins starter Lance Lynn has struck out Julien in his first two at-bats tonight. In his third at-bat of the night, Julien was facing Cardinals two-time All-Star pitcher Miles Mikolas. He beat the shift with a single to left field.) 

Pablo Shuts Down Puerto Rico
On Sunday afternoon in Miami, new Twins starting pitcher Pablo Lopez made the start for Team Venezuela against Puerto Rico in a game filled with current and former Twins players. 

Lopez was incredibly impressive, keeping the Puerto Rico batters completely off balance. He went 4 2/3 innings and gave up just one run on two hits. He added six strikeouts. He could have finished the fifth inning. He was at just 58 pitches (65 is the limit in Round 1). However, he was taken out to a standing ovation by many of the fans that watched him as a Marlin for the past four years. 

It may not surprise you that the one run that Lopez gave up came on a solo home run by former Twins outfielder Eddie Rosario. Jose Berrios started for Puerto Rico and was charged with six runs (5 earned) on five hits and two walks in one inning. Jovani Moran got three outs, two on strikeouts, though he also walked two batters. Jorge Lopez pitched a scoreless inning as well. 

TVS Tops Ohtani

Finally, former Twins prospect Todd Van Steensel has had a very interesting baseball career. He's been playing professional baseball for about 15 years. He reached Double-A with the Twins, and actually won a championship with the St. Paul Saints in one of their final seasons as an independent team. Van Steensel has been representing Team Australia for a long time too including previous WBCs. 

For the first time, Australia is advancing to the second round of the WBC. They are the second seed, behind Japan, in their pool, and will head to Taiwan for Round 2. 

Australia lost to Japan 7-1 over the weekend, but Van Steensel had a highlight. He faced, and struck out, Shohei Ohtani. To no one's surprise, he had a comical response to it. 

 

What have been your highlights from watching the WBC so far? Discuss in the COMMENTS below. 

 

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[tony&rodney]

Hopefully De Leon can get an opportunity in St. Paul, maybe in long relief because the Saints might be deep in starters.

These games are fun.

[sun]

I hope De Leon gets noticed enough to be rewarded with a chance to shine with the Twins. He's got sharp stuff and just needs to stay healthy. He just may be the real deal and is locked & loaded to do battle this year. This year is a big deal for him to make up for lost time due to an injury plagued career. I hope that the Twins don't waste his time if he's ready to pitch & can be an asset. This outing was a big first step. He may very well be the 1st to get called up, ASAP if he's ready.

[Doctor Gast]

It's great to see our Twins do so well in the WBC. Even with the great range of talent, WBC helps to grow baseball around the world. We should extend Lopez as soon as possible. De Leon could be a good BP arm.

[MGX]

Good article.

The WBC is a lot of fun to follow. Many great story lines, I mentioned a few in another post - 

 

Also, the Nicaraguan pitcher striking out - Soto, J-Rod & Devers in the same inning & then getting a contract with the Tigers after the game. 

Of course what's mentioned above with Julien & De Leon. If you're a baseball fan you have to be enjoying this!

[Cory Engelhardt]

Count me among those who were pining for both DeLeon and Stewart in a Dozier trade back in the day. :)

[Dman]

I want to be optimistic on Deleon but he only threw 20 to 30 innings in 2021 and 2022 between Milb and MLB.  He hasn't thrown 100 innings since 2015 which is 8 years ago.  At this stage he is probably best used as a reliever.

He has had a strong spring with just one outing where he struggled with his control and got dinged for a 3 run home run.  He has 1 walk this spring and 9K's in 4.2 innings of work.  He is missing bats with his stuff and is in the running for Sire of FT. Meyers.

I confess I don't know how hard he throws or even really what he throws but given his recent results he looks like an MLB arm right now.  Will have to see how things play out as Spring training ramps up but it sure would be nice to find an elite bullpen arm out of nowhere.

Jullien looks like the same guy no matter what level he plays at.  If I were a pitcher I would stick to the corners early and not throw fastballs until later in the count.  Keep the fastballs on the edges as well.  If you are pitcher you need to be dialed in when Facing Jullien or he will gladly take his walk.

Looks like Pablo gonna Pablo.  If the arm holds up it looks like the Twins got what they needed.

[roger]

Great news from DeLeon, but let's remember it was against Israel.  Question, Seth.  Do you know if his MiLB contract has an opt out date?  Hopefully not and he will be available to be called up when needed.  And yes, the Saints should have one hell of a team....starting pitching, outfield, and infield with three vet catchers.

 

[strumdatjag]

Before we get real excited, DeLeon was pitching against Team Israel.   Let me know if I’m wrong about Israel, but I would think Taiwan and Israel probably edged out Team Botswana  and Team Fiji Islands to make it to this tournament.  

[JD-TWINS]

I’m agreed that Team Israel, even with a few recognizable pro names, is not too scary.

I’m hoping DeLeon can add enough depth in St. Paul, so that they risk shortening up one of the starters for a Big Club reliever when needed (Balazovic or SWR)

[Valdespino]

If DeLeon pans out, kudos to Falvey.  He’s putting together a deep and rich pitching staff.  Should be a fun season.

[cheeseheadgophfan]

No disrespect intended, but if you watch the strikeouts that Deleon had in the game, it appears the WBC strike zone is much larger than MLB's........

[rwilfong86]

My wife (who is Puerto Rican and didn't really care much about the WBC) was beaming watching the game last night. These type of stories are what makes the WBC so much different than MLB baseball.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

8 hours ago, strumdatjag said:

Before we get real excited, DeLeon was pitching against Team Israel.   Let me know if I’m wrong about Israel, but I would think Taiwan and Israel probably edged out Team Botswana  and Team Fiji Islands to make it to this tournament.  

Frankly I was surprised Team Fiji Islands got past Team Afghanistan

[Seth Stohs]

20 hours ago, sun said:

I hope De Leon gets noticed enough to be rewarded with a chance to shine with the Twins. He's got sharp stuff and just needs to stay healthy. He just may be the real deal and is locked & loaded to do battle this year. This year is a big deal for him to make up for lost time due to an injury plagued career. I hope that the Twins don't waste his time if he's ready to pitch & can be an asset. This outing was a big first step. He may very well be the 1st to get called up, ASAP if he's ready.

There's a reason that they signed him, because they know and have seen for years what he may be capable of. They didn't need this outing to know that. 

There's a reason that he was available on a minor-league deal. He hasn't been healthy and he hasn't been particularly good.

The Twins, and hopefully most fans, realize that this was a great start, but it was just one start against a lineup that wouldn't rank in the top half of all Triple-A offenses, and probably several Double-A lineups too. So, no, I don't think that one start should alter the Twins thinking of where he ranks in terms of starting pitcher options (which would be no higher than about 10. 

[Seth Stohs]

15 hours ago, roger said:

Great news from DeLeon, but let's remember it was against Israel.  Question, Seth.  Do you know if his MiLB contract has an opt out date?  Hopefully not and he will be available to be called up when needed.  And yes, the Saints should have one hell of a team....starting pitching, outfield, and infield with three vet catchers.

 

My assumption is that De Leon hasn't done enough to get an opt-out... that said, Boras is his agent, and he may have got him one mid-season or so. 

[roger]

7 hours ago, Seth Stohs said:

My assumption is that De Leon hasn't done enough to get an opt-out... that said, Boras is his agent, and he may have got him one mid-season or so. 

Thanks, Seth.

[sun]

On 3/15/2023 at 1:31 AM, Seth Stohs said:

There's a reason that they signed him, because they know and have seen for years what he may be capable of. They didn't need this outing to know that. 

There's a reason that he was available on a minor-league deal. He hasn't been healthy and he hasn't been particularly good.

The Twins, and hopefully most fans, realize that this was a great start, but it was just one start against a lineup that wouldn't rank in the top half of all Triple-A offenses, and probably several Double-A lineups too. So, no, I don't think that one start should alter the Twins thinking of where he ranks in terms of starting pitcher options (which would be no higher than about 10. 

You're right that it was only 1 start. However he started 11 games in the Puerto Rican Winter League this past November & December which means that he's healthy and perhaps more ready to pitch longer outings & more effectively than some other Twins AAA pitchers.  He had a 1.51 ERA in 47.2 innings which could show his advanced level of readiness.

Just because Team Israel couldn't hit the ball doesn't mean that De Leon wasn't pitching well. His pitches seem to have good movement & zip. I'm looking forward to seeing him make the jump hopefully sooner rather than later considering that he was such a high level prospect that had a long and apparently successful recovery from TJ surgery in 2018.

He seems to be at least on par if not able to exceed expectations of Chris Archer last year. De Leon just showed that he could hold up for 60+ pitches just like he was able to do playing PR winter ball. I think that puts him ahead of at least some of the Twins pack of AAA pitchers. Hopefully the Twins and fans will give him some credit when credit is due as he proves himself, which should include his WBC performances.

[IndianaTwin]

On 3/14/2023 at 9:04 AM, Cory Engelhardt said:

Count me among those who were pining for both DeLeon and Stewart in a Dozier trade back in the day. :)

Is that you, Dave?*

 

*For those newer to TD, there was a bazillion-comment long thread started by a "Dave" who claimed to have inside knowledge that a Dozier-for-DeLeon trade was imminent.

[Cory Engelhardt]

16 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

Is that you, Dave?*

 

*For those newer to TD, there was a bazillion-comment long thread started by a "Dave" who claimed to have inside knowledge that a Dozier-for-DeLeon trade was imminent.

Nope, but I remember that thread VERY well. Wasn't it like 22,000 pages or something like that? 

[Boswell]

On 3/14/2023 at 9:24 AM, strumdatjag said:

Before we get real excited, DeLeon was pitching against Team Israel.   Let me know if I’m wrong about Israel, but I would think Taiwan and Israel probably edged out Team Botswana  and Team Fiji Islands to make it to this tournament.  

According to Wikipedia, Team Israel 🇮🇱 had an unexpectedly powerful performance at the 2017 WBC.  They received an automatic spot for 2021, delayed to 2023…..

Prior to the start of the 2017 World Baseball Classic, ESPN considered Team Israel, ranked 41st in the world, to be the biggest underdog in the tournament, referring to it as the "Jamaican bobsled team of the WBC". Israel's odds to win the WBC were 200-1, before the tournament began. As the team began to win games at the WBC, its performance was described variously as a Cinderella story, a "David and Goliath" tale, and a baseball version of The Mouse That Roared

. ^{Israel beat all three opposing teams in the first round to finish atop the pool, defeating South Korea (ranked # 3 in the world), Chinese Taipei (ranked # 4 in the world; Israel's 15 runs were the most Taiwan had ever given up in a game in World Baseball Classic play), and the Netherlands (ranked # 9 in the world). Israel became the first baseball team to go undefeated in the first round of the WBC’s main draw after entering the main draw by winning in a qualifying round. Team Israel's catcher, Ryan Lavarnway, was named Pool A MVP. Team Israel qualified for the second round; Pool E in Tokyo, Japan, to be played later in March 2017. Furthermore, the team qualified for the 2021 World Baseball Classic.}

^{In the first game of the 2017 World Baseball Classic second round, Israel beat Cuba (ranked # 5 in the world). In a rematch of their Pool A game in which Israel prevailed, the Netherlands defeated Israel, giving the team its first loss of the tournament, and then world # 1 Japan beat Israel. Israel finished in third place in Pool E with a 1-2 record, and 4-2 (and sixth) overall in the tournament. Pitcher Josh Zeid was named to the 2017 All-World Baseball Classic team.}

[strumdatjag]

9 hours ago, Boswell said:

According to Wikipedia, Team Israel 🇮🇱 had an unexpectedly powerful performance at the 2017 WBC.  They received an automatic spot for 2021, delayed to 2023…..

Prior to the start of the 2017 World Baseball Classic, ESPN considered Team Israel, ranked 41st in the world, to be the biggest underdog in the tournament, referring to it as the "Jamaican bobsled team of the WBC". Israel's odds to win the WBC were 200-1, before the tournament began. As the team began to win games at the WBC, its performance was described variously as a Cinderella story, a "David and Goliath" tale, and a baseball version of The Mouse That Roared

. ^{Israel beat all three opposing teams in the first round to finish atop the pool, defeating South Korea (ranked # 3 in the world), Chinese Taipei (ranked # 4 in the world; Israel's 15 runs were the most Taiwan had ever given up in a game in World Baseball Classic play), and the Netherlands (ranked # 9 in the world). Israel became the first baseball team to go undefeated in the first round of the WBC’s main draw after entering the main draw by winning in a qualifying round. Team Israel's catcher, Ryan Lavarnway, was named Pool A MVP. Team Israel qualified for the second round; Pool E in Tokyo, Japan, to be played later in March 2017. Furthermore, the team qualified for the 2021 World Baseball Classic.}

^{In the first game of the 2017 World Baseball Classic second round, Israel beat Cuba (ranked # 5 in the world). In a rematch of their Pool A game in which Israel prevailed, the Netherlands defeated Israel, giving the team its first loss of the tournament, and then world # 1 Japan beat Israel. Israel finished in third place in Pool E with a 1-2 record, and 4-2 (and sixth) overall in the tournament. Pitcher Josh Zeid was named to the 2017 All-World Baseball Classic team.}

I should never have doubted Israel.  The ghosts of Hank Greenberg and Sandy Koufax are turning me into a pillar of salt.