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
2009 A+
.247
.295
.285
453
5
6
0
29
96
53
8

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 stated 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.

Back at Lynchburg in 2009, de los Santos hit about the same as always. The one area in which he was much-improved was base stealing, as he finally started to take good advantage of his excellent speed. He played second for much of the season, but when Chase D'Arnaud moved up, he spent a lot of his time in center. De los Santos is a very good defensive player at short or second, with good range and athleticism, and a strong arm. He'll be 25 at the start of the 2010 season and obviously isn't going much further, but the Pirates could give him a chance as a utility player in AA. He also could end up back in high A, even at shortstop if the Pirates don't move Brock Holt all the way up from State College.

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