GOODYEAR, Arizona – Before José De León was known as a top prospect with the Los Angeles Dodgers, he was a pitcher who nearly didn’t make it out of rookie-ball in Ogden, Utah.
De León signed for $35,000 after he was drafted in the 24th round of the 2013 MLB Draft. There wasn’t a big investment in him and very few players picked in that area of the draft make it to the big leagues.
It didn’t help that he had a 6.96 ERA in his first professional season, surrendering 41 earned runs in 53 innings. Former Dodgers pitching coordinator Rick Knapp told De León afterward that he needed to learn a changeup or else he wouldn’t be pitching anymore.