Luke Leto
SS 6-2 190 Portage Central HS (MI)
20. Luke Leto, INF, Portage Central
6-foot-2, 190 pounds. Brings phenomenal athleticism with compact strength to the field. High-pedigree prospect whose stock is down after a rough showing at Perfect Game’s National Showcase. Flashed a potential impact bat that generates loft from the left-side. Struggled defensively, showing below-average actions for a shortstop. Best suited at third base or somewhere in the outfield. Still has plenty of time to show evaluators what he can do to raise his stock again.
PG -
Luke Leto is a 2021 SS/RHP with a 6-2 190 lb. frame from Portage, MI who attends Portage Central. Big and strong athletic build. 6.72 runner, has good athleticism on defense, moves well for his size, rotational thrower, third base profile moving forward. Left handed hitter, hits from an open stance with a well timed glide into contact, has strong hands and can drive the ball to all fields, showed advanced barrel to ball skills to go with his strength and bat speed
3. Luke Leto, INF, Portage Central High School (Michigan)
When evaluating very young talent, it’s important to look at tools. It’s also important to look at performance. Luke Leto has such a good history of both, I wrote a post about him on this very site a year ago. Simply put, in every chance Leto has gotten to prove himself against the best competition his age, he’s succeeded. Not just in high school but for Team USA as well, where he absolutely raked against the top international competition. The kid has the skill and range to play any position in the infield. The only knock on him is he’s not likely to possess plus power, but then again, neither was Francisco Lindor. So what do we really know? It’s likely he stays up the middle unless he grows quite a bit over the next few years.
Luke Leto – 3B/OF: Someone most had inside their Top 10 as the 2021 class got rolling, and I was one of them. Has some concerns on the defensive side of the ball, a SS now, won’t stick, 3B or LF is the fit long-term. Early in the summer some concerns of his ability to tap into the Power (50 Game, 60 Raw) But lately, the swing has shown more consistency and ability to turn on balls with some power to the pull side and get a bit away from his mostly CF-LF Approach, which is good, but you want to see some consistent Power with Leto. If he shows that, we will see Leto start creeping back into the Top 15 and a potential 1st Rounder with Middle of the Order upside.
Luke Leto - It’s been a tough summer for one of the most famous names on the summer showcase circuit. His swing has gone through some changes throughout the summer, even working with the Cubs Justin Stone to refine his stroke. He did show an improved swing in BP from the iteration earlier this summer. As he did a good job of toning down his hitch. The skills are still there at the plate, as metrically Leto grades out very strong. In fact some of the characteristics that make him a strong hitter, have led to his struggles in the field. Leto’s movement profile is stiff, and stiff hitters tend to be more compact in their swings with less wasted movement. Leto is able to generate above average bat speed despite his stiffness. That coupled with a consistent path to the ball gives Leto’s profile a nice baseline offensively. It’s simply a matter of further refining his abilities into game skills. There’s still very much a question as to where he lands defensively and the aforementioned stiffness has certainly contributed to his struggles in the dirt. He was tried as an outfielder during the summer as he’s grown out of shortstop and may best fit at an outfield corner.
2 comments:
Leto looks like a possible 2nd round talent, if still there?
Leto has really shot up the charts recently.
Some have him as a top 5 pick.
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