Gómez was signed by the Baltimore Orioles in 1985 as an amateur free agent. He broke into professional baseball with the 1986 Bluefield Orioles, batting .352/~.496/.693 in just 27 games. His average would have led the Appalachian League had he played enough to qualify and despite missing over half the season, he still was only one home run behind the Bluefield leader. Even though Appy league managers got just a glance at Gómez, they rated him the #10 prospect in the circuit, tied with Gerónimo Peña.\n', '

Leo moved up to the Carolina League in 1987. For the Hagerstown Suns, Gómez won the batting title with a line of .326/~.440/.538 with 94 runs, 38 doubles, 19 homers, 110 RBI and 95 walks. He led the league in slugging percentage and doubles and tied Casey Webster for the RBI lead. Milt Harper edged him by five points for the OBP lead. In the Year of the Third Baseman in the Carolina League (according to Baseball America), Gómez beat out Webster, Jeff King and Hensley Meulens for the All-Star spot at the hot corner, though Webster (who made the team at DH) won MVP honors and Meulens (who made the All-Stars as a utility man) was named top prospect. Gómez was picked as the second-best hope for the future.\n', '

At age 22, Gómez moved up to the AA Charlotte Knights but only played 24 games (presumably he was injured most of the season) and hit .292/~.364/.382 with only one homer in 89 at-bats. His progress stunted, he returned to AA in 1989, returning to Hagerstown, which had moved up the ladder. The Puerto Rican infielder hit .281/~.400/.467 with 18 homers and a league-high 89 walks. His 78 RBI ranked second, he was fifth in homers and presumably in the top five in slugging and OBP as well. He made the Eastern League All-Star team at third base, his second minor league All-Star team in his only two full seasons of play.\n', '

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