Leo Heras

Leonardo Heras (El Niño)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 155-190 lb.

• Born May 29, 1990 in Tecate, Baja California Mexico

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Leonardo Heras has led the Mexican League in runs and played in the Pan American Games.

Heras debuted in 2007, going 4 for 21 with a walk and 7 runs for the Potros de Tijuana. The next summer, the 18-year-old was starting for Tijuana and hitting .271/.322/.414; he fielded .980 at second base. In 2009, he joined the Broncos de Reynosa improved to .330/.376/.430 with 10 triples while moving to center field. He was second in the LMB in triples, behind Eduardo Arredondo. He also had a whopping 17 outfield assists. With Reynosa in 2010, he kept steady at .316/.379/.424 with 8 triples. He was fourth in triples, one behind the three co-leaders: Chris Roberson, Eloy Gutierrez and Donzell McDonald.

In 2011, the youngster signed with the Diablos Rojos del Mexico and batted .342/.399/.536 with 18 home runs, 100 runs and 25 steals in 34 tries. He finished second in runs (behind Luis Terrero), first in hits (152) and tied for second in triples (8, even with Henry Mateo, one back of Roberson). He was the center fielder for the Mexican national team in the 2011 Pan American Games, going 5 for 19 with a walk and two RBI. He had one error and one assist. In the winter, he hit .264/.325/.375 for the Algodoneros de Guasave.

He dazzled for Mexico City again in 2012 - .323/.398/.556, 111 R, 24 2B, 17 SB. He led the league in wins by 17 ahead of Carlos Alberto Gastelum, tied for second in triples (again 8, one behind Gilberto Mejia) and tied Roberto Saucedo for 9th in home runs. His offensive numbers fell a bit in 2013 (.310/.398/.519, 9 3B, 81 R). He tied for second in triples for the third straight season, 3 behind Ivan Araujo. His performance was good enough that the Houston Astros bought his contract along with that of Japhet Amador. Assigned to the Corpus Christi Hooks, he hit .205/.354/.385 with 8 walks and 7 runs in 10 games. After a winter hitting .266/.356/.362 for Guasave, he batted .236/.354/.364 for the 2014 Corpus Christi Hooks, with 6 triples and 19 steals (in 23 tries) over 96 games. He tied Brian Humphries for (what else?) second in the Texas League in triples, two behind Cory Spangenberg.

Guasave became the Charros de Jalisco and hit .289/.429/.513 with 49 runs in 64 games in 2014-2015, drawing 55 walks. He hit three homers in a game, the first Mexican native to do so in franchise history; imports Julio Zuleta, Kevin Barker and Armando Rios had done so previously. He led the Mexican Pacific League in runs, two ahead of Manny Rodriguez, was third with 20 doubles (behind Olmo Rosario and Rodriguez), tied Xorge Carrillo and Jon Weber for 8th in home runs (9), led in walks (19 more than runner-up Rico Noel), was third in steals (after Noel and Corey Wimberly), led in OBP (.023 ahead of Gil Velazquez), ranked second in slugging (.022 behind Rodriguez) and was first in OPS (15 ahead of Rodriguez). He did not win the MVP, which went to Rodriguez. In the summer of 2015, he was primarily with Corpus Christi (.244/.332/.370 in 77 G) and played 9 games for the Fresno Grizzlies (.194/.265/.290). He stole 13 bases in 14 tries.

In the winter of 2015-2016, he hit .268/.394/.463 in the first 26 games for Jalisco then was dealt to the Yaquis de Ciudad Obregón for Agustin Murillo. He hit .344/.432/.531 in 18 contests for the Yaquis. He was 9th in the LMP with 35 runs; everybody with more played at least fifty games. He played for Mexico when they won their 2016 World Baseball Classic Qualifier, going 2 for 6; he hit a two-run jack off Carlos Teller in the romp of Nicaragua in the finale. That summer, he started slowly for Fresno (0 for 5, 3 K) and was returned to the Diablos Rojos, for whom he batted .288/.398/.418, a far cry from his last campaign with them before his US stint. With Obregón for a full winter, he had a batting line of .262/.368/.443 with 43 runs, 8 triples and 38 walks in 67 games; he went 10 for 12 in steals. He led the league in triples (by 3), was second in runs (one behind Rookie of the Year Isaac Rodriguez Salazar), tied Jesse Castillo for second in walks and tied for 5th in stolen bases.