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    Leo Balcazar (Photo: Aldrin Capulong/Daytona Tortugas)
    Photo: Aldrin Capulong/Daytona Tortugas

    Cincinnati Reds #11 Prospect: Leo Balcazar – SS

    Doug Gray 25

    In the first two seasons of his career, Leo Balcazar put up an OPS in the .880’s between a season with the Dominican Summer League Reds and the Arizona Complex League Reds. He did that while showing plenty of defensive tools at shortstop, too.

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    The Cincinnati Reds sent Leo Balcazar to Single-A Daytona when the 2023 season began. The infielder made his full season debut a memorable one, going 1-3 with three walks, a home run, three runs scored, and he drove in two. While the power slowed down a bit from there, he kept on hitting for the rest of April. In the following 17 games he hit .323 with six extra-base hits.

    Unfortunately that is also where his 2023 season ended. The Tortugas played a doubleheader on April 30th and Balcazar scored the game-winning run on a walk-off, 2-run single by Cam Collier. After touching the plate he attempted to join his teammates in celebration with Collier on the infield, but something happened as he turned to join them and he tore his ACL in his right knee.

    For all 2023 Season Reviews and Scouting Reports – click here (these will come out during the week throughout the offseason).

    Leo Balcazar Scouting Report

    Position: Shortstop | B/T: R/R

    Height: 5′ 10″ | Weight: 190 lbs. | Acquired: International FA (2021) | Born: June 17, 2004

    Hitting | He has an above-average hit-tool.

    Power | He has slightly below-average power potential.

    Speed | He shows average speed.

    Defense | He’s an above-average defender.

    Arm | He has an above-average arm.

    The 2023 season didn’t go as hoped for Balcazar as a freak injury cost him the final five months of play, surgery, and a long rehab process. He’s been recovering well and was swinging a bat and doing some infield drills.

    Since signing, all Balcazar has done is hit and hit well. He’s a career .300/.392/.495 hitter in his 89 games played. The sample size there is small, but scouts seem to generally believe he’s going to continue hitting for a good average as he progresses and moves up the ladder. He can and does use the entire field, though his home run power is likely to be to the pull side. While he’s put up good slugging numbers thus far as a professional, he’s more likely to be a guy who settles in the teen-range of home runs than a guy who gets into the 20+ range.

    Defensively there’s some good mixed in with some not-so-good. We’ll start with the good stuff. Balcazar is athletic with good range, good hands, and a strong arm. He has all of the tools to be a quality defensive shortstop. Now to the not-so-good stuff. In his three seasons he has an .893 fielding percentage at shortstop. That did improve to .941 in 2023, but that was also just a sample size of nine games. He’s going to have to improve on that error rate as he moves forward.

    Video

    Leo Balcazar Spray Chart

    Interesting Stat on Leo Balcazar

    He hit .379 with six walks and eight strikeouts in 35 plate appearances against starting pitchers.

    Doug Gray
    Doug Gray is the owner and operator of this website and has been running it since 2006 in one variation or another.

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    25 Responses

    2. Huge loss to start 2023. It’ll be great to see him back in uniform to start the 2024 season.

      Although, I wonder if #11 is a bit to high considering his injury? Hoping I eat my words soon.

      1. A good question about the #11 placement, and Doug has the answer, but I suspect injury does not play a factor, provided there is any sort of record/performance.

        #11 seems about right considering those who jumped ahead of him. He’ll only move down with under-performance, and could move up vice-versa.

      2. My list came out before the Baseball America list did, but they put him at #8. So I’m a tad *low* on his ranking by comparison there.

        We only got one month of play there, but there were plenty of good things that were relayed by scouts in that time frame. The injury *shouldn’t* be an issue long term, so I’m not worried about that.

        1. Seems like the ability to stick at a premium position may have had some added influence with BA, and the injury isn’t one tied to greater questions about future performance, as it would be with a shoulder injury, for both hitter and pitcher when you think about it.

    3. I had forgotten BA had both Jorge and Balcazar in their top ten, so I was about to comment I’d like to see Doug and JJ Cooper debate Jorge vs. Balcazar, as guys more or less flip flopped in ranking.

      However, given things as they are (BA with Jorge and Balcazar and Doug with and Cabrera), the better take would be Balcazar vs. Cabrera.

      How about it Doug? Can we lure JJ into the fray with some sizzling Hot Stove talk? We could spice it up with a debate on Cam Collier, who BA has frankly trashed since June.

    4. How many SS do we have in the organization? Don’t know but it’s a lot. lol The philosophy that you gain as many SS as you can because they can play most anywhere has to come to fruition sooner or later. It’s no secret how I feel about EDLC. He’s a CF Superstar given the chance.

      1. I’ve always thought EDLC would be a great CF or RF. I didn’t want to take him off the dirt until now. Signing Candelario changed the dynamics of the infield. EDLC was my 3B, he’s amazing there, and McLain was my SS.

        I like RF Benson, CF EDLC, LF Steer, and Friedl covering all 3 with equal playing time. Oh yeah, Fraley as the DH.

      2. As per Doug, Elly was the Reds’ best short stop last year.

        He has more range and far more arm than MCLain.

        Further his arm is an absolute weapon at short, and would be underutilized in the OF — how many key throws per game does each position make?

        His current deficit is that he’s 21 and needs experience at the ML level. MCLain played at a big time school, and was raised in a baseball family with extensive private instruction for he and his brothers. Is he a ML short stop? Yes, of course. But he is arguably the 4th best in the org, behind Elly, Arroyo, and Barrero. Faltine is actually considered the best in the org by BA, so MCLain is likely the 5th best. Miguel Hernandez may have something to say about that as well.

        So, once more into the breach … leave your best player at his best position. Don’t mess with him.

        And, as a 3B/1B, Candelaria fits best as a complement to Marte and CES as they develop at the ML level.

        Candelaria does not impact the rotation of India/MCLain/EDLC in the middle infield.

        1. Keith Law shared about the signing in the Athletic and stated that Candelaria is better at 3rd defensively than Marte.

          Love to see Doug’s take on that. So now Doug can take on JJ and Keith Law.

        2. @Dave everything you said makes sense, but I still don’t agree. I’ve seen EDLC’s range, and arm, and it’s the best by far of anyone we have on the roster. I’ve also seen EDLC bobble balls and create errors at SS. I do think it could be polished up in the near future.

          I also agree with you that McLain is not the best defensive SS in the organization. I think that tittle belongs to Arroyo, and he’ll likely take over SS in 25. Currently McLain is the best fielding SS (that also carries a bat) on the 26 man. Let McLain be the placeholder for Arroyo. Let EDLC get into the OF as soon as possible.

          2025 CF EDLC, 2B McLain, SS Arroyo, and I still can’t figure out where Marte fits anymore. Candelario has changed the dynamic of the infield.

        3. 1 more time CF EDLC, SS Arroyo, 2B McLain, that’s has the makings of an incredible up the middle defense. With EDLC running in on the ball, and McLain/Arroyo running out on the ball, there would be very few ball landing in no mans land.

        4. MBS, for the sake of argument (and only the sake of argument, haha!), I’d prefer an alternative.

          Elly to 3B, on arrival of Arroyo
          Arroyo at SS
          MCLain at 2B
          CES at 1B

          Marte to RF
          Friedl then Dunn in CF
          Steer in LF

          Point: Elly’s arm at SS or 3B is a much more valuable asset than in CF where it won’t have the volume of opportunities to make game changing plays as at short or third.

          Case Study: He threw a 100 mph strike to the plate to nail a runner. That has more value than making 10-15 outfield assists PER YEAR. As the cutoff man, he collects throws from multiple outfielders. As an outfielder, his throws will be cut off as many if not more times they go through.

          Plus we have several cannon outfield arms already on the way: Hinds, Dunn, in particular. We don’t need him there.

          With Elly in the Infield, his best position, and Dunn in CF, his best position, we are maximizing arguably our two best athletes at their best positions. And it’s backed by 150 years of baseball wisdom.

        6. Well all have our opinions. Funny thing is I don’t think the Reds care about any of them. Crazy. ;)

        7. “Point: Elly’s arm at SS or 3B is a much more valuable asset than in CF where it won’t have the volume of opportunities to make game changing plays as at short or third.”

          Just to continue the friendly debate as everyone is making good points. He wouldn’t have the volume of throws in CF but his speed and range would be utilized more not to mention his size and jumping ability pulling HRs off the wall. I still maintain that the older he gets the harder it will be to get down on ground balls constantly being 6’5″ and maybe still growing. An argument therefore could by made that CF could prolong his career.

        8. “Added note: Marte has the speed and arm to play right field.”

          I agree….and so does CES. I don’t know what’s going to happen but something has GOT to happen.

        9. @Dave,

          “Elly to 3B, on arrival of Arroyo
          Arroyo at SS
          MCLain at 2B
          CES at 1B”

          That was my exact setup before Candelario signed a 3 year deal with an option on a 4th.

          My Current thinking is 2025

          DH ?, C Stephenson, 1B CES
          2B McLain, 3B Candelario, SS Arroyo
          LF ?, CF EDLC, RF ?

          Benson, Friedl, Steer, Marte… and probably 2 of Dunn, Hinds, or Hurtubise

          Trading Fraley, and India

          We’ll know a lot more if a few months on how they place their players, but it’s still fun to banter back and forth in the mean time.

        10. Dang it, Melvin, ya got me!

          Elly’s speed and range in CF would be a great asset.

          However … so would Dunn’s.

          Touché?

        11. @Melvin, per Statcast, their Sprint Speeds (ft/sec):

          – Marte: 29.1
          – CES: 27.6

          MLB average is 27.0. CES is fast, and Marte is very, very fast.

        12. Melvin, I do agree Elly will at some point move off of SS, though I prefer 3B in deference to Arroyo, who is just plain freakin’ good, with Marte to RF.

          Something about collisions with outfield fences and diving for shoulder ruining balls in the OF concerns me for Elly. Because we know he’d go all out.

        13. DaveCT – haha Yeah…..but…is Dunn 6’5″ and still growing possibly? Beat that. :D Just playin with ya.

        15. Arm strength from Statcast (small-sample size for both players):

          – Marte – 90.4 mph
          – CES – 86.2 mph

          Fraley and Steer had better max throws (92.9 and 92.3 respectively). IMHO, Marte is the right player to push to the outfield.

          I think we all agree, EDLC has gold glove potential at any defensive position aside from catcher. He’s 21 and his bat is his key to success. I would do whatever is necessary to make him more comfortable at the plate. His K-rate is holding him back from becoming the next Red’s superstar.

      3. Disagree with this, in line with the other comments. Keep EDLC at SS/3b, primarily at SS. Aside from C, it’s the primary defensive position. He’s 21, and only needs experience – it’s worth it for him to get in MLB. His offensive woes are more concerning, but he’s clearly a quick learner. Don’t move his exceptional physical skills.

        As for Candy, consider him a transitional player, and a very good one. The timing and structure or his deal is almost perfect. by mid-season 2025 the Reds will know who amongst the current 26-man rookies will succeed, and who in MiLB will be rising. If Candelario is excellent, he’s a trade or option candidate, a good problem to have. If he falters and the others succeed, they’ve shown they will move on. If everyone falters, Candelario is far from the biggest problem.

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