Landon Leach
RHP Landon Leach
Hometown: Pickering, Ont.
B-T: R-R.
Ht/Wt: 6’ 4”, 205 lbs.
Teams: Toronto Mets, Toronto Blue Jays Scout Team, Canadian Junior National Team/C-University of Texas.
Coach: Chris Kemlo.
Twitter Handle: @l_leach
On other lists: Listed 86th on Baseball America's top 500 prospect list (05/05/17), up 32 spots ... Ranked 101st on MLB Pipeline's top 200 (05/06/17), down 11 spots ... Listed 129th on Perfect Game's top 500 combined list of HSers and collegians (26/05/17), down 54 spots ... Ranked 75th on Perfect Game's top 500 high school list (5/5/17), down five spots ... Listed 118th on Baseball American's top 200 combined list (05/04/17), down 25 spots ... Ranked 90th on MLB Pipeline top 100 (4/27/17) ... Listed 75th on Perfect Game's top 150 combined list of HSers and collegians (04/03/17), up 110 spots ... Ranked 71st on Perfect Game top 500 HS list (4/3/17), down three positions ... Listed 93rd on Baseball America's top 100 combined (03/23/17) ... Listed 68th on Perfect Game's top 500 HSers (02/02/17), up 27 spots ... Rated 185th on Perfect Game’s top 250 combined list of collegians and HSers (11/29/16) ... Listed 42nd on Baseball America's top 100 HSers (11/23/16) ... Rated 95th on Perfect Game’s top 500 HSers in North America (11/07/16), up 171 spots ... Rated 266th (8/29/16) on top 500 HS in North America ... Ranked 229th on PG's top 400 HS list.
MLB Pipeline Scouting Report
101 Leach, Landon Pickering HS RHP R/R HS 6’4” 205lbs DOB: 07/12/99
Canada has produced some very good Draft talent on the mound, with first-rounders Adam Loewen and Jeff Francis in 2002 and, more recently, Mike Soroka in 2015. As a big right-hander like Soroka, Leach gets compared to him frequently and while he’s not quite as advanced as his predecessor, there is still a lot to like about him. The 6-foot-4 hurler with a commitment to Texas has the chance to have a very solid three-pitch mix. He’ll touch 94 mph with his fastball and sits comfortably around 92 mph, throwing it with good sink and without a ton of effort. His 78-80 mph curveball is an average breaking ball now and he has a good feel for his 79-81 mph changeup. He’s around the zone with all three offerings and he’s a decent athlete, so he should continue to repeat his delivery well. There is some drop and drive in his mechanics at times, but nothing that can’t be corrected. He did throw well during Team Canada’s annual trip to Florida this spring. Leach’s room to add strength combined with coming from a colder climate add up to a good amount of projection. He’s not likely to join his brethren in the first round, but he has opened up enough eyes to potentially be taken in the top three.
Perfect Game Scouting Report
130. Landon Leach, rhp, Pickering HS
R-R, 6-4/213, Pickering, Ontario, Canada.
College Commitment: Texas
Leach has been frequently compared to Braves 2015 first round pick Mike Soroka, who has already advanced to AA, but that comparison isn’t the tightest as Soroka was very advanced out of high school regardless of where he grew up, whereas Leach is more a prototypical northern tier pitcher with a very good arm and solid but still developing skills.
Leach’s delivery is pretty low effort and he can sit in the low 90’s with his fastball with occasional life and top out at 94 mph. Both his upper 70’s curveball and similar velocity changeup are also consistently around the zone and should continue to be fine tuned with more use. He looks like a very safe bet to be picked around the third round, with the potential to go a bit above that to the right team.
2017 season: Leading up to the draft _ Threw at a private workout at Minute Maid Saturday in Houston before 12 evaluators ... CPBL _ Was 94 vs. Toronto Mets 17U ... Dominican summer trip: Walked eight, struck out four in 8 2/3 innings 3.12 ERA ... Worked four innings allowing one run on four hits and two walks against MLB Prospects, while striking out a pair. Was 91-93 MPH ... Pitched in front of 40 scouts at Yankees complex in Boca Chica, hitting 91-93 MPH with a bunch of 94, hit 95. In 76 pitch outing allowed five runs -- two earned -- on four hits, six walks, fanning two ... PBR showcase _ Sat at 92-94 MPH, hit 95 a couple of times ... CPBL Showcase _ Decided not to throw in the chilly weather, next up Thursday at Dan Lang in Scarborough. Rains cancelled games ... Extended spring trip _ In six innings allowed three runs -- two earned -- on four hits, five walks -- striking out five ... Allowed two runs -- one earned -- in three innings against the Jays, giving up one hit and walking three, while fanning two batters. Hits 96 MPH ...Pitched three innings giving up a run facing the Braves. Allowed walk, base hit and fly ball for a run ... March trip _ Allowed six runs -- four earned -- on seven hits and four walks, while fanning eight ... Gave up two unearned runs against the Toronto Blue Jays split squad fanning, four in three innings ... Gave up four runs on five hits and two walks in two innings against the Blue Jays at Dunedin. Broke the bat of Jays top prospect Vladimir Guerrero ... Allowed doubles to D.J. Davis 22, Bo Bichette, 19, Mike Reeves, 26 and a triple to Lane Thomas 21 ... Clocked at 91-95 MPH vs. pro hitters first time outdoors ... Threw first bullpen session on March 2.
MLB Pipeline Report: Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 50 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45
Canada has produced some very good Draft talent on the mound, with first-rounders Adam Loewen and Jeff Francis in 2002 and, more recently, Mike Soroka in 2015. As a big right-hander like Soroka, Leach gets compared to him frequently and while he’s not quite as advanced as his predecessor, there is still a lot to like about him.
The 6-foot-4 hurler with a commitment to Texas has the chance to have a very solid three-pitch mix. He’ll touch 94 mph with his fastball and sits comfortably around 92 mph, throwing it with good sink and without a ton of effort. His 78-80 mph curveball is an average breaking ball now and he has a good feel for his 79-81 mph changeup. He’s around the zone with all three offerings and he’s a decent athlete, so he should continue to repeat his delivery well. There is some drop and drive in his mechanics at times, but nothing that can’t be corrected. He did throw well during Team Canada’s annual trip to Florida this spring.
Leach’s room to add strength combined with coming from a colder climate add up to a good amount of projection. He’s not likely to join his brethren in the first round, but he has opened up enough eyes to potentially be taken in the top three.
What they are saying: "Touched 96 in Florida but pitches comfortably at 93-94." Veteran scout.
"Expected to go 2nd-to-4th round. Has a plus fastball, a plus slider and an average curve. He’s a short strider.” _ AL scout.
"Not a finished product like Mike Soroka (Calgary, Alta. -- 28th over-all to the Atlanta Braves in 2005). What he is is, a diamond in the rough. He needs to be polished. It’s not like he has 1,000s of innings on his arm.” _ NL scout.
"I have him with high school pitchers in Florida and California." _ Veteran scout.
“John Mariotti (his pitching coach) certainly has spent a lot of time with this young man and done a good job. Landon looked so good coach Rick Leitch may be changing the spelling of his name. Had coming out party in February of 2016 ... Converted catcher ... Little mileage on the arm."
2016 season _ Florida fall trip: Two scoreless, one hit, two strikeouts in win over Braves ... Allowed one hit, two walks, one run vs. Jays, striking out one ... Jupiter: Hit 93 MPH at Perfect Game WWBA championships ... Threw 3 2/3 scoreless in 11-0 win over the Dallas Patriots, allowing three hits, three walks, fanning seven in his outing. An 68-pitch (37-strike) outing with a maximum velocity of 93.2 MPH. ... Cuba trip: Walked a pair, hit one and gave up three hits allowing six runs, four earned in one inning ... Two hits, five walks, three runs and five strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings, struck out the side in the sixth, three ground outs in a perfect seventh ... Was 89-93, 94 in first inning at Under Armour Classic game at Wrigley. Lots of 91-93s ... March trip to St. Pete’s: Two scoreless innings facing Puerto Rico; Extended spring trip: Two scoreless innings with two Ks, retired six straight after a Braves batter reached on error vs. Braves ... two scoreless innings three strikeouts facing Nationals ... Threw eight straight pitches at 91 MPH at MLB Scouting Bureau.
Honors _ 2017 season: Rawlings-Perfect Game Preseason All-American, All-Region Teams Canada/Puerto Rico Region ... 2016 season: All Tournament Team WWBA World Championship ... 2015 season: Top 10 Exit Velo (fifth of 10) Pitcher Catcher Indoor Showcase ... Top 10 Zepp Time to Impact (First of 10) at National Underclass West Showcase
“Don’t sell him short, he might be the top high schooler when all is said and done.” _ Veteran scout.
“Best velocity from a Canadian high school arm since Austin Shields last year and before that all the way back to Michael Clouthier. (2011).” _ Cross checker.
“Only guy who throws over 90. Good mechanics too.” _ Duane Ward
“Not that big but he was 91-92 MPH. Best arm here.” _ Devon White.
“Good arm, he was 90-92 MPH with his slider at 82-84.” _ George Bell.
Baseball America report from Hudson Belinsky from Rivalry Classic at Fenway Park: Landon Leach (Pickering High, Ajax, Ontario, Canada) also showed well. The right-hander, who plays travel baseball with the Toronto Mets, was on the roster at East Coast Pro, but did not attend. Three scouts told Baseball America that they had heard rumors of mid-90s fastball velocity for Leach but had not yet seen him in person. At Fenway, Leach didn’t quite show that rumored velocity, but he did show the arm speed and physical frame to make those rumors seem plausible.
Leach has a slight wrap in the back of his arm action. At Fenway, he lacked consistent timing in his delivery, with his front side planting inconsistently and his arm sometimes coming through late, giving him trouble repeating his release point. Leach pitched off his fastball, which reached 93 mph, and he hung the pitch often. His velocity settled in at 89-91 and showed flashes of late life, with arm-side run at times.
The right-hander threw a breaking ball in warmups. He threw it to his arm side with some sharp spin, but the pitch backed up. It showed the natural spin to project as a useable offering, though he did not show conviction in his breaking ball in this look.
Perfect Game report on Leach at Jupiter, by Matt Czechanski: It’s very rare to find a low-90s arm that is not already committed while at the WWBA World Championship, but that’s exactly what Toronto Blue Jays Scout Team right-handed pitcher Landon Leach (2017, Pickering, Ontario) is. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound righty has extremely smooth mechanics with an easy, repeatable three-quarters arm slot. Leach easily sat at 90-93 mph throughout his 3 2/3 innings of work while flashing good running action to the arm side. He has an advanced feel for his fastball that allows him to reach each edge of the plate with bat-breaking life. The uncommitted pitcher did not need his off-speed too often, but he did show a curveball and a slider that flashed very tight rotation with late-breaking action down in the strike zone. Wherever Leach may land after his Jupiter performance he is sure to be a power right-handed arm that can change the depth of any pitching staff.
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