The New York-Penn League (NYPL) takes a short break for the annual All-Star game tomorrow night at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium in Troy, New York. Five players will represent the Black Bears on the South squad at “The Joe” (Ike Schlabach, Adam Oller, Deon Stafford, Tristan Gray, & Bligh Madris). One prospect who won’t be there is Sandy Santos.
The Pittsburgh Pirates signed Santos as an international free agent on July 1, 2012 at the age of 18. He played in the Dominican Summer League during the 2013 (.205/.251/.275; OPS .526) and 2014 (.262/.378/.348; OPS .726) seasons before being assigned to the Appalachian League (Rookie) Bristol Pirates (.257/.338/.466; OPS .804) in 2015.
Santos got off to a fast start with Black Bears in 2016 and had a OPS of 1.020 in June. He slumped in July, but was named to the NYPL All Star Game and was the league player of the week (August 14). His final slash line was .281/.336/.412 with an OPS of .748.
The Pirates Prospects 2017 Prospect Guide described Santos as “….very raw, and doesn’t always have consistent results….”
After a slow start with the West Virginia Power in the South Atlantic League in 2017 (.181/.301/.319; OPS .620), Santos was assigned the Black Bears on June 13. Overall, his performance has been disappointing. After batting below the Mendoza Line early in the season, Santos has had 7 hits in his last 30 at-bats (.233) and has a slash line of .205/.234/.273 (OPS .507) going into the All Star Game break. Although he has made some nice plays in the field, he continues to make untimely miscues and in 26 games with the Black Bears his fielding percentage is .926.
At 23 years of age, time is running out. Hopefully, Santos can turn this season around. I hope he does. Otherwise, he has nowhere to go in the Pirates organization.
Photo Credit: MiLB.com
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