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GARRETT LEONARD, RIGHT HANDED PITCHER
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| Born: September 25, 1996 Height: 6’3″ Weight: 190 Bats: Right Throws: Right Drafted: 15th Round, 454th Overall, 2019 How Acquired: Draft College: Rollins College Agent: |
WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE |
| After pitching mostly in relief as a freshman, Leonard has been a starter the last two years at Rollins. The Pirates have had a lot of early success out of Rollins College in the last year, taking starting pitcher Brad Case in the 17th round and watching him put up strong numbers in his first full season. Leonard had a lot of control issues as a freshman, and still walks too many batters now, but he has made improvements. His strikeout rate has been strong throughout his three seasons. Leonard had a 7.32 ERA last year, then cut it down to 3.95 in 2019, while pitching in a high offense environment. During a no-hitter last year, he hit 95 MPH on his last pitch of the game, so he has solid velocity. He also throws a slider and has a high-effort delivery, which may point to a future in relief. He gets very high marks for his work ethic. Leonard also played third base in high school.
2019 Leonard pitched in a short relief role for West Virginia. He started off well, but got hammered in August, with opponents putting up an OPS of .999 against him. Leonard also had control problems. Overall, opponents hit 263/351/412, well above the league averages. He had no real platoon split. 2020 2021 The Pirates moved Leonard up to Greensboro, where he made 29 appearances in relief. He was done in by walks and home runs, allowing 15 of the latter, or almost one every four innings. He gave up ten at the home run park in Greensboro and had a 6.82 ERA there, but still had only a 4.66 ERA on the road. Leonard may not be ready for AA. |
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CONTRACT INFORMATION
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| 2022: Minor league contract |
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PLAYER INFORMATION
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| Signing Bonus: MiLB Debut: 2019 MLB Debut: MiLB FA Eligible: 2025 MLB FA Eligible: Rule 5 Eligible: 2022 Added to 40-Man: Options Remaining: 3 MLB Service Time: 0.000 |
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TRANSACTIONS
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| June 5, 2019: Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 15th round, 454th overall pick; signed on June 12. |