Antwan Leanos:
Antwan Leanos was the fourth player from the famed 2023 draft class to be inducted into the Hall of Fame (the first three being: Greg Dos Santos, Juan Lantigua, and Jason Dockins). He was also, arguably, the greatest player of the seven. Rochester made Leanos the third overall selection in that draft. The hope for Rhinos' fans was that Leanos would lead a team lacking in much glory to the promised land. Even in years when Rochester had been good, they had never been good enough, always finishing second to the powerhouse in Pittsburgh. In recent seasons, they hadn't even had winning records to fall back on, as evidenced by the high draft pick.
Leanos skipped the minor leagues, making the Rhinos' 2023 major league roster. However, he would have to wait a bit before starting, as the incumbent RF, Leopoldo Guerro, was still an effective player even at the age of 37. Leanos' first season gave evidence of his batting eye, as he posted a respectable OBP of .350. In 2024, Leanos became the regular RF, as Guerro was dealt to Washington in mid-June. It was a decent season for both Leanos and the Rhinos. Leanos flashed some of his power potential and put up an OPS over .800. Meanwhile, Rochester posted their first winning season since 2017, scratching out 83 wins.
Rochester's "success" was a mirage. Over the ensuing seasons, the Rhinos quickly sunk to the bottom of the division. The same cannot be said for Leanos, however. His production rapidly improved. In 2026, he batted over .300 and made his first All Star team. A year later, he belted 41 longballs and put up an OPS over 1.000. That set the stage for a magical 2028 season, at least for Leanos.
Back in 2010, Scott Border ripped 61 homeruns for Kansas City. It was the fifth time in his career that he had managed such a feat. It would also be the last. Until the 2028 season, it would also be the last time
anyone in the league had accomplished it. In fact, since the start of the '20s, there had been only four
50 HR seasons. That would changed in 2028, and Leanos would be the leader of the offensive explosion. It began with a 10 homerun month of April. He cooled slightly, with "only" 7 homers in May, but in June, Leanos picked up the pace, bashing 13. He followed with a 14 homer July. He finished up with 8 homeruns in August, and 10 in September. That gave him a whopping 62 homeruns. Alas for Rochester, they still managed only 84 wins, and finished a distant second to Pittsburgh. Even so, Leanos won the first Silver Slugger Award of his career.
Although Leanos never again hit 60 in a season, the next several years followed a simialr formatl. Leanos would put up monstrous numbers and Rochester would do well, but not well enough. Leanos won his second Silver Slugger in 2032.
As the 30's closed out, Rochester began to decline. After 8 consecutive winning seasons, the Rhinos slumped to 70-92 in 2036. It was the same year that Leanos hit his 500th homerun. In '37, the team lost 94 games. 2038 was the end of an era. Leanos, 35 years old, left the team he had spent his entire career with, and signed with the expansion Buffalo Bills. He would make his 11th, and final, All Star appearance that season. Shortly after the All Star break, he would hit the 600th homerun of his career. It made him only the second player to hit 600 homeruns. Only Hector Abad had hit more than Leanos. At the end of the year, he won his 8th, and final, Gold Glove Award in RF. Only Leanos and Brad Lane have won that many Gold Gloves in right field.
Leanos hung on for a couple more seasons, his skills in deep decline at that point. By the time his career came to an end in '41, he wasn't even playing in the majors anymore, as he spent about a month at AAA embarrassing himself before Buffalo put him out of his misery and released him.
At the time of his retirement, Leanos ranked third all time in homeruns, 12th in RBI, 8th in walks, and 17th in runs scored. Today, Leanos ranks 9th in homeruns and 24th in walks.
Leanos had tremendous power, excellent plate discipline, and was arguably the greatest defensive RF of all time. Alas, because of the era in which he played- an era which saw a ridiculously dominant Pittsburgh team running roughshod over the Northeast Division and allowed only division winners to make the postseason- Leanos never got the chance to prove himself in the playoffs. Is he the greatest player to never play in the postseason?
Leanos' stats:
Code:
Career Batting Stats
Year G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS Teams
2023 90 123 30 6 1 3 12 14 20 38 0 1 .244 .350 .382 .732 ROC
2024 134 424 124 15 1 14 59 62 53 100 1 0 .292 .371 .432 .803 ROC
2025 152 507 150 26 4 21 94 91 102 119 2 0 .296 .414 .487 .901 ROC
2026 154 567 172 34 3 27 109 85 81 157 1 0 .303 .390 .517 .907 ROC,NL
2027 155 554 172 30 3 41 111 112 107 140 1 0 .310 .422 .597 1.020 ROC,NL
2028 157 564 191 19 1 62 163 135 93 132 0 1 .339 .432 .706 1.138 ROC,NL
2029 156 541 182 28 0 54 160 131 113 100 0 0 .336 .451 .688 1.139 ROC,NL
2030 155 558 168 23 1 45 115 117 106 99 0 1 .301 .413 .588 1.000 ROC,NL
2031 158 557 168 26 2 39 106 116 98 77 0 1 .302 .406 .566 .972 ROC
2032 157 547 178 22 1 58 152 137 109 74 0 1 .325 .438 .687 1.125 ROC,NL
2033 156 555 185 24 3 50 136 130 109 72 1 0 .333 .443 .658 1.100 ROC,NL
2034 158 557 150 18 3 46 125 113 87 87 6 2 .269 .368 .560 .928 ROC,NL
2035 154 558 170 22 1 28 107 97 92 83 12 0 .305 .403 .498 .901 ROC,NL
2036 156 549 157 21 3 46 114 113 90 95 2 0 .286 .387 .587 .973 ROC,NL
2037 156 535 150 30 1 29 87 83 85 104 1 0 .280 .379 .503 .882 ROC
2038 154 546 133 14 0 47 110 94 91 143 2 0 .244 .352 .527 .879 Buf,NL
2039 151 538 137 18 3 17 60 81 89 155 2 1 .255 .360 .394 .754 BUF
2040 71 214 50 12 2 4 23 24 18 54 0 1 .234 .293 .364 .658 BUF
Total 2624 8994 2667 388 33 631 1843 1735 1543 1829 31 9 .297 .400 .557 .957
Career Minor League Batting Stats
Year G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS
2040, AAA 27 98 22 7 0 1 7 13 15 19 2 0 .224 .325 .327 .651
2041, AAA 29 98 19 5 0 3 10 14 22 20 3 2 .194 .333 .337 .670
Player History
Drafted in 1st round, 3rd overall pick, by Rochester in 2023...
Had first career hit on 4/2/2023, off William Wallace (HAR)...
Hit first career homerun on 8/18/2023, off Ronald Brenner (HAR)...
Drove in 7 runs against San Diego on 4/14/2026...
Was selected to the 2026 Allstar game...
Had 5 hits with 5 RBI against Sacramento on 7/9/2026...
Won Batter of the Month award on 5/1/2027, hitting .337 with 8 HR, 24 RBI...
Won Player of the Week award on 6/2/2027, hitting .350 with 4 HR, 10 RBI...
Was selected to the 2027 Allstar game...
Won Player of the Week award on 9/15/2027, hitting .538 with 3 HR, 10 RBI...
Won Gold Glove Award at Rightfield in 2027...
Had 5 hits with 6 RBI against Harrisburg on 4/29/2028...
Won Player of the Week award on 5/12/2028, hitting .400 with 4 HR, 9 RBI...
Won Batter of the Month award on 7/1/2028, hitting .340 with 13 HR, 31 RBI...
Was selected to the 2028 Allstar game...
Hit 3 homeruns against Pittsburgh, driving in 5 runs on 7/20/2028...
Won Player of the Week award on 7/21/2028, hitting .481 with 7 HR, 13 RBI...
Drove in 7 runs against Harrisburg on 7/28/2028...
Won Batter of the Month award on 8/1/2028, hitting .427 with 14 HR, 34 RBI...
Drove in 6 runs against Portland on 9/14/2028...
Won Silver Slugger Award in 2028, hitting .339 with 62 HR, 163 RBI...
Won Batter of the Month award on 7/1/2029, hitting .379 with 12 HR, 28 RBI...
Was selected to the 2029 Allstar game...
Drove in 6 runs against Portland on 7/12/2029...
Won Player of the Week award on 7/14/2029, hitting .375 with 5 HR, 14 RBI...
Won Batter of the Month award on 8/1/2029, hitting .419 with 11 HR, 32 RBI...
Had 21-game hitting streak snapped on 8/2/2029...
Won Batter of the Month award on 9/1/2029, hitting .364 with 12 HR, 27 RBI...
Won Gold Glove Award at Rightfield in 2029...
Drove in 6 runs against Portland on 4/16/2030...
Was selected to the 2030 Allstar game...
Won Player of the Week award on 8/4/2030, hitting .565 with 4 HR, 7 RBI...
Hit 3 homeruns against Sacramento, driving in 6 runs on 9/23/2030...
Won Player of the Week award on 9/29/2030, hitting .435 with 7 HR, 15 RBI...
Won Gold Glove Award at Rightfield in 2030...
Won Player of the Week award on 5/12/2031, hitting .524 with 2 HR, 7 RBI...
Won Player of the Week award on 7/14/2031, hitting .440 with 4 HR, 10 RBI...
Won Gold Glove Award at Rightfield in 2031...
Drove in 7 runs against San Diego on 5/28/2032...
Won Batter of the Month award on 6/1/2032, hitting .385 with 12 HR, 34 RBI...
Won Player of the Week award on 6/2/2032, hitting .529 with 5 HR, 15 RBI...
Was selected to the 2032 Allstar game...
Hit 3 homeruns against Harrisburg, driving in 3 runs on 8/18/2032...
Won Player of the Week award on 8/25/2032, hitting .500 with 3 HR, 7 RBI...
Had 5 hits with 5 RBI against Portland on 9/15/2032...
Won Player of the Week award on 9/22/2032, hitting .452 with 7 HR, 14 RBI...
Won Player of the Week award on 9/29/2032, hitting .611 with 3 HR, 8 RBI...
Won Batter of the Month award on 10/1/2032, hitting .452 with 14 HR, 30 RBI...
Won Silver Slugger Award in 2032, hitting .325 with 58 HR, 152 RBI...
Won Gold Glove Award at Rightfield in 2032...
Was selected to the 2033 Allstar game...
Drove in 6 runs against Los Angeles on 9/20/2033...
Won Player of the Week award on 9/22/2033, hitting .462 with 6 HR, 19 RBI...
Won Batter of the Month award on 10/1/2033, hitting .389 with 13 HR, 38 RBI...
Won Player of the Week award on 5/12/2034, hitting .500 with 8 HR, 18 RBI...
Was selected to the 2034 Allstar game...
Had 5 hits with 1 RBI against San Diego on 4/17/2035...
Drove in 6 runs against Hartford on 6/18/2035...
Was selected to the 2035 Allstar game...
Had 2000th career hit on 8/12/2035, off Ramon Alcazar (SD)...
Won Gold Glove Award at Rightfield in 2035...
Hit 3 homeruns against Harrisburg, driving in 4 runs on 4/29/2036...
Had 500th career homerun on 5/4/2036, off Kirby Overlock (HFD)...
Won Player of the Week award on 6/23/2036, hitting .471 with 3 HR, 5 RBI...
Was selected to the 2036 Allstar game...
Won Gold Glove Award at Rightfield in 2036...
Won Player of the Week award on 9/8/2037, hitting .350 with 4 HR, 8 RBI...
Signed as a free agent by Buffalo on 2/21/2038 to a 4-year deal worth $13,524,800 per year...
Won Player of the Week award on 6/2/2038, hitting .360 with 6 HR, 14 RBI...
Won Player of the Week award on 6/30/2038, hitting .381 with 7 HR, 11 RBI...
Was selected to the 2038 Allstar game...
Had 600th career homerun on 7/7/2038, off James Loesch (POR)...
Won Gold Glove Award at Rightfield in 2038...
Won Player of the Week award on 4/21/2039, hitting .444 with 3 HR, 7 RBI...
Injured on 4/16/2041 with a Bruised Hand, out for 5 days...
Released by Buffalo on 5/5/2041...
Retired and inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2042.
Batting Leader Boards Appearances
AVG
2028 - .339 - 7th
2029 - .336 - 9th
2032 - .325 - 8th
OBP
2025 - .414 - 5th
2026 - .390 - 8th
2027 - .422 - 4th
2028 - .432 - 3rd
2029 - .451 - 2nd
2030 - .413 - 2nd
2031 - .406 - 7th
2032 - .438 - 2nd
2033 - .443 - 1st
2035 - .403 - 10th
2036 - .387 - 10th
SLG
2026 - .517 - 9th
2027 - .597 - 3rd
2028 - .706 - 1st
2029 - .688 - 3rd
2030 - .588 - 4th
2031 - .566 - 9th
2032 - .687 - 1st
2033 - .658 - 3rd
2034 - .560 - 7th
2036 - .587 - 5th
OPS
2025 - .901 - 10th
2026 - .907 - 8th
2027 - 1.020 - 3rd
2028 - 1.138 - 1st
2029 - 1.139 - 1st
2030 - 1.000 - 2nd
2031 - .972 - 8th
2032 - 1.125 - 1st
2033 - 1.100 - 1st
2035 - .901 - 10th
2036 - .973 - 3rd
2037 - .882 - 10th
Hits
2028 - 191 - 6th
Homeruns
2026 - 27 - 9th
2027 - 41 - 2nd
2028 - 62 - 1st
2029 - 54 - 3rd
2030 - 45 - 3rd
2031 - 39 - 7th
2032 - 58 - 1st
2033 - 50 - 3rd
2034 - 46 - 3rd
2035 - 28 - 9th
2036 - 46 - 1st
2038 - 47 - 5th
RBI
2026 - 109 - 7th
2028 - 163 - 1st
2029 - 160 - 1st
2030 - 115 - 7th
2032 - 152 - 1st
2033 - 136 - 4th
2034 - 125 - 4th
2035 - 107 - 10th
2036 - 114 - 8th
2038 - 110 - 10th
Runs
2027 - 112 - 5th
2028 - 135 - 1st
2029 - 131 - 2nd
2030 - 117 - 2nd
2031 - 116 - 10th
2032 - 137 - 1st
2033 - 130 - 5th
2034 - 113 - 10th
2036 - 113 - 4th
BB
2025 - 102 - 5th
2026 - 81 - 9th
2027 - 107 - 1st
2028 - 93 - 3rd
2029 - 113 - 1st
2030 - 106 - 2nd
2031 - 98 - 3rd
2032 - 109 - 3rd
2033 - 109 - 2nd
2034 - 87 - 9th
2035 - 92 - 7th
2036 - 90 - 6th
2037 - 85 - 10th