Age is just a number. Just ask 19-year-old Leo De Vries.
MLB’s No. 4 prospect -- the youngest player in the Double-A Texas League -- swatted his third homer of the season in Midland’s 6-4 extra-inning victory over Springfield on Saturday at Hammons Field. The blast raised De Vries’ OPS to .858 on the season.
De Vries’ homer came on a fastball in his second at-bat of the contest against 2025 first-rounder Liam Doyle (MLB No. 29). After Doyle got De Vries to fly out in the first, the switch-hitting shortstop fouled off three heaters before getting a pitch he could handle and lasering it 105 mph off the bat per the park's Trackman device, sending it over the left-field wall. It marked De Vries’ first big fly of the year off a left-hander and raised his slash line against southpaws to .360/.484/.560.
COMPLETE ATHLETICS PROSPECT COVERAGE
Ranked as the No. 2 international prospect in 2024, De Vries’ tools jumped off the page even as a 17-year-old, prompting the Padres to send him to Single-A to start his career. Now, two seasons and a blockbuster trade to the Athletics later, the club's top prospect is competing in a circuit in which the average player is 5.1 years older than him.
De Vries has shown a mature approach at the dish even as the second-youngest player at the entirety of Double-A -- the Brewers’ Jesús Made (MLB No. 3), in the Southern League, is the youngest. De Vries has reached base in 18 of 20 contests and collected knocks in 15 of them. Among that group are six multihit games, including a trio of three-hit performances.
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All told, De Vries ranks tied for fifth and sixth in the Texas League in runs (17) and hits (24), respectively. His OPS, stolen bases (six) and home run total all rank among the top 25 in the league.
This past Spring Training, De Vries slashed .426/.460/.723 and hit three homers over 18 games with the big league club. There’s no telling what level De Vries will reach by the end of this season, but one thing is for sure -- it won't bother him if he’s one of the youngest ones there.