Dennis Santana

Santana really feels like a reliever stuck in a starter's body. He is a slider-heavy starter with a secondary fastball and a usable changeup who has been able to strike out out more than a hitter per inning everywhere he has gone yet has also been rather hittable as well. He owns a devilish 6.66 ERA at the big-league level with a 1.52 WHIP and .265 opponents' batting average over parts of three seasons. He has struggled in the PCL with a 6.47 ERA and 1.69 WHIP in just over 100 innings of work there and Double-A was not much better with a 3.91 ERA and 1.33 WHIP. When you watch him pitch, you can't believe a guy who throws 93-97 with his slider has those numbers, but those are his outcomes to date. He turns 25 just after the season starts and feels like just the type of guy the Dodgers trade away in a package this winter to reload for a repeat title run.

Back in the summer of 2018, Santana was riding high as one of the hottest pitching prospects in the game, but he hasn't been the same since going down with a rotator cuff injury that summer. He got the call up relatively early on in 2019 (April 7), but was sent packing after just a trio of appearances with the big club. Santana was on the injured list at Triple-A Oklahoma City before the end of April and never got going following his return, posting an unsightly 5.77 FIP in 93.1 innings with the Dodgers' top affiliate. His walk rate went from 4.4% at that level in 2018 to 11.9%, and with the implementation of the happy fun ball at Triple-A, home runs suddenly became a problem. Santana has a minor-league option remaining and the Dodgers should give him time to prove his health and get on track given the flashes of upside, but Santana will be afforded less time than he would in another organization.

A brilliant first two months in the minor leagues earned Santana a promotion to Los Angeles. He posted K-BB rates of 23% and 26.7% at Double-A (38.2 innings) and Triple-A (11 innings), respectively, using his impressive fastball-slider-changeup mix to dominate competition that was more than two years older than him on average. Unfortunately, he only got one opportunity to show what he could do against major-league hitters. He hit the disabled list with a right rotator cuff strain days after his debut, and while surgery was deemed unnecessary, Santana remained shelved through the remainder of the season. Assuming he returns to full health, Santana will likely contribute a fair amount to the big-league team in 2019, though his role remains to be seen. His heavy sinking fastball would make Santana a valuable weapon in high-leverage spots, but the Dodgers probably don't want to throw in the towel on him starting just yet.