RedHawks' Santana ties, then wins game

Domingo Santana has only been with Triple-A Oklahoma City for two weeks, but he's already confirming scouting reports and living up to his reputation as a dangerous middle-of-the-order hitter.

And even though statistics aren't necessarily as important as player development, RedHawks interim manager Tom Lawless believes the Astros' No. 8 prospect has the ability to post big numbers while continuing to grow.

The 21-year-old outfielder smacked his first Triple-A homer to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth inning, then won it with a bases-loaded single in the 10th as the RedHawks edged New Orleans, 4-3, on Sunday.

"If he develops like he should, he will put up pretty big numbers in this league," Lawless said. "He'll hit for average and drive in runs. He can be a very exciting player.

"He has been swinging the bat very well the past two or three days. ... He struggled early, but he's a young kid and now he's starting to get his confidence back."

Santana signed with Philadelphia in 2009 before being traded to Houston as the player to be named in the Hunter Pence deal. He grounded out in the second inning and struck out in the fourth and sixth. The RedHawks were trailing, 3-2, in the ninth, but Santana -- who ripped three doubles on Saturday -- took Chris Hatcher deep to right field before delivering the decisive blow an inning later.

"It was an 0-1 count," Lawless said of Santana's homer. "He took a fastball first pitch for a strike and [Hatcher] came back with another fastball that was up and over the plate. It was a towering fly ball. It easily cleared the fence.

"[In the 10th], he had a great at-bat against their closer, who is very good. He battled off a few tough pitches and bounced a high chopper over the drawn-in infield. It will give him tons of confidence. Kids come in at this level and they're the youngest on the field, whoever they're playing."

The outing raised Santana's average to .262 and doubled his RBI tally to four. But Lawless said the process is still more important than the outcome, especially for a 21-year-old coming up from Double-A. With other highly touted players such as No. 3 Astros prospect George Springer and No. 4 Jon Singleton on the roster, Lawless said Santana has several teammates to learn from without feeling the pressure to produce in every at-bat.

"He can watch them and learn a whole lot," Lawless said. "And there are kids on the other teams who are 26, 27, 28 years old who have played in the big leagues. It's a valuable learning experience night after night to see how they approach the game and their at-bats and be a professional, day in and day out."

Lawless said Santana is still soaking it all in. He's taken early batting practice during the homestand and has worked with hitting coach Leon Roberts in the cage to review video and help analyze his mechanics.

The interim manager also noted that Santana's swing can get long at times, causing his to chase balls he can't catch up with. He said the plan is to get the outfielder between 400-450 at-bats in the Pacific Coast League, so it's unlikely the Astros want to rush the native of the Dominican Republic through the system.

"I would say he's more aggressive than he is patient, and that's what got him into trouble earlier," Lawless said. "But now his confidence is back, he's aggressive in the zone and he's laying off out of the zone, and that's getting him better pitches to hit. He has to work on his defense, but he can hit and hit with power. He has a big ceiling."