Cristian Santana

Position: 3B
Level: High A
Affiliate: Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
League: California League
Born: 02/24/1997 (Age: 27)
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 175
B/T: Right / Right
Acquired: Signed as international free agent July 2, 2013 (LAD)

Prospect Spotlight

Now 21 years old, Santana signed with the Dodgers out of the Dominican Republic as a projectable 16-year-old in 2013. He’s grown and his body has matured significantly, and hers now playing well beyond his listed 175 pounds – closer to 215 in my views. Despite the size increase, Santana is an above-average athlete who moves well, and he’s not a clogger on the bases.

The big draw to Santana is his plus raw power, showing the strength and carry to park balls to straightaway center field. He generates a lot of the boom from brute strength—particularly in his wrists—and a leveraged swing that is oriented towards pull-side power. He has yet to turn his BP shows into game power, currently a free swinger with limited concept of the strike zone. Santana often swings himself out of at-bats by chasing breaking stuff out of the zone, and he will probably always come with lower averages and a healthy amount of strikeouts. He helps his profile by being able to remain at third base despite a large body, able to afford himself an extra step by playing back and relying on an above-average arm.

Unless he starts polishing his approach and contact such that his power becomes more of a factor, Santana could wind up a 4A-type corner player is likely to finish a 4A-type corner player who doesn’t have enough consistency at the plate to justify a regular big league profile.