Leandro Emiliani

Leandro Luis Emiliani Benítez

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 1", Weight 180 lb.

• Born March 22, 2000 in San Antero, Córdoba Colombia

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Leandro Emiliani has played in the minors and for the Colombian national team.

He was signed by Washington Nationals scout Eduardo Cabrera in July 2017. He hit .245/.293/.397 for the 2018 GCL Nationals and improved to .299/.467/.480 in a return stint with them the next summer. He led the Gulf Coast League in OBP (.006 ahead of Junior Martina, was 3rd in walks (behind Ronny Rojas and Nasim Nuñez) and OPS (3rd, behind Kerry Carpenter and Martina). He was named the GCL All-Star DH.

The 2020 minor league season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Returning to action in 2021, he split time between the Fredericksburg Nationals (.155/.275/.311 in 32 G) and FCL Nationals (.194/.268/.250). After a .217/.368/.362 winter with the Caimanes de Barranquilla (he did not appear for them in the 2022 Caribbean Series), he played in '22 for the Wilmington Blue Rocks (.223/.326/.375 in 33 G) and Fredericksburg (.231/.303/.436 in 59 G). He was 10th in the Nationals chain with 13 dingers, 7th in RBI (66) and 9th in slugging (.415).

In the winter, he batted .225/.379/.378 for the Caimanes. He tied Carlos Martinez for 6th in the Colombian League with 27 walks. In 2023, he again played for Wilmington (.179/.231/.313 in 34 G) and Fredericksburg (.246/.362/.318 in 35 G). During the 2023 Pan American Games, he played for Colombia. He grounded out against Cuba's Yoennis Yera his first time up and his first hit was off Frank Álvarez. He was 1-for-3 with a walk and 2 runs in their Gold Medal Game win over Brazil as Colombia won its first Pan American Games Gold in baseball. He hit .333/.444/.467 in the effort and fielded .951 at first. Only Jhadiel Santamaría had more putouts in the Games than his 38.

He was 1-for-14 with 9 walks for the 2023-2024 Tigres de Cartagena then was released by the Nationals the next spring.