JOSE LUIS de los SANTOS

2/17/85; NDFA '06; Dominican Republic
R/R; 5-11, 160

Level
BA
OBP
SA
AB
2B
3B
HR
BB
K
SB
CS
2004 DSL
.287
.313
.322
174
4
1
0
6
15
20
 
2005 DSL
.221
.267
.321
190
7
3
2
10
27
34
 
2006 A-
.000
.000
.000
3
0
0
0
0
2
0
1
2006 R
.277
.341
.314
159
6
0
0
13
22
18
5
2007 A
.224
.254
.240
125
2
0
0
4
20
3
5
2008 A+
.233
.293
.286
210
5
3
0
17
39
14
10
2008 A
.270
.341
.299
244
5
1
0
26
50
14
10

After two years in the DSL, de los Santos served as Bradenton's regular SS in 2006.  He batted leadoff and did a decent job of getting on base.  Baseball America states that he took up switch-hitting in 2006, but the roster at MiLB.com continues to show him as a RH hitter, as does the Pirates' media guide, and I haven't seen him hit LH.  In 2006, he got a year-end promotion to Williamsport and was probably slated to return there in 2007, but instead was moved from extended spring training to Hickory when Angel Gonzalez was promoted to Lynchburg.  De los Santos obviously was overmatched with the bat in the SAL.  He must have gotten hurt, as he played in only one game after July.  With Brian Friday skipping low A and going to Lynchburg, de los Santos opened 2008 as the SS at Hickory.  He showed some progress at the plate, as he started trying to work the count and did a fairly good job of getting on base.  He's strictly a slap hitter and has no power at all.  When Friday went out with back problems, de los Santos moved up to Lynchburg, where he struggled at the plate.

De los Santos is a very good defensive SS, with good range and athleticism, and a strong arm.  He's error-prone, but that's not uncommon in the low minors.  He's very fast but obviously needs to work on his base stealing technique.  The Pirates may continue to try to develop him as something other than an organizational player due to his glove, but he'll open 2009 at age 24 and doesn't have much of a ceiling.  Friday is likely to move to AA in 2009, but de los Santos could get squeezed out of the SS position if Jordy Mercer moves up from Hickory.  He played mainly 2B after Friday returned late in 2008, so he could move there again in 2009.  In any event he'll most likely return to Lynchburg.

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