Orioles prospect named AFL Pitcher of the Week

Luis De León earns AFL Pitcher of the Week honor

With hurricane rainstorms in Arizona halting play over the weekend, four of the six AFL teams have logged four games while the other two have played just three. During that span, De León's seven strikeouts are the most of any pitcher and he has been called "the circuit's most impressive arm."

In his minor league campaign, the 22-year-old racked up 107 strikeouts across 87.1 innings and posted a 3.30 ERA. De León rose through Baltimore's pipeline in 2025, beginning the year with the Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds where he made four starts before being promoted to the High-A Aberdeen IronBirds. There, he was 4-3 across 11 starts (13 games) and held an ERA of 3.58 with 69 strikeouts. To finish the year, De León was terrific in his first three starts at the Double-A level, striking out 24 across 16 innings and boasting a 1.69 ERA for the Chesapeake Baysox.

Across his final seven starts, the 6-foot-3 lefty held a 1.47 ERA with 59 strikeouts. In total, De León has made 72 appearances in four years of minor league action with the Orioles since he was signed at age 18 out of the Dominican Republic during the 2020-21 international signing period for $30,000.

At just 22, De León utilizes three strong pitches including a slider, changeup, and sinking fastball that touches 98.5 mph. With loads of athleticism and good stuff, the young pitcher has a proclivity to lose his command and walk batters (41 in 2025). The next step in De León's development will be to home in on a more consistent, repeatable delivery and release point while using his full arsenal to attack hitters with strikes early in the count. With some adjustments, De León could seemingly be a legitimate left-handed option out of the bullpen in the next year or two, but could also figure into a mid-rotation role farther down the line.

With additional reps looming in fall ball, it will be interesting to see if De León can extend his late season and week one success into the rest of the AFL season. Peoria has 30 scheduled games, with a three-day playoff slate beginning on November 12th. Between all five major league affiliates (the Orioles, Cincinnati Reds, Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres, and Seattle Mariners), the Javelinas have 25 pitchers at their disposal, including fellow Orioles minor leaguers Sayer Diederich, Carson Dorsey, Brandon Downer, and Tanner Smith.

De León's next start lines up against Mesa again this Thursday, October 16th at 3:30 PM EST (1:30 PM MST).