Dragons 2018 Preview: Part 5--Third Basemen

The Dragons begin their spring training game schedule today in Goodyear, Arizona when they take on the Burlington Bees. This will be the first game of a 14-game Arizona-based spring schedule that will conclude on March 30. Dragons manager Luis Bolivar has been working since mid-February with players in the Reds Major League camp, and he continues to do so. The manager for the Dayton working roster today will be Ray Martinez, who will manage the Billings Mustangs this season. Bolivar will be back in Minor League camp soon. 
Following the completion of the spring training game schedule, rosters will be assigned for each of the Reds four full-season affiliates (Dayton, Daytona, Pensacola, and Louisville) and the 25 Dragons players will arrive in Dayton on April 1. They will open the Midwest League season on Thursday, April 5th in Bowling Green, Kentucky against the Bowling Green Hot Rods. The Dragons home opener is Saturday, April 7 when they host Bowling Green at Fifth Third Field at 7:00 p.m. Single-game ticket sales for 2018 Dragons games began yesterday.
The Third Basemen
This is part five of an eight-part series previewing the 2018 Dragons. Players listed here are candidates for positions on the 25-man Dragons season-opening roster.
This preview is an unofficial projection of possible roster candidates. Minor League rosters are not established until April 2. Spring training variables including performance, injuries, trades, and additional player acquisitions will impact the roster accordingly.
Click links on each name for career stats and player information.
Candidates: Leandro Santana (additional candidates previously profiled at other positions).
There would appear to be one clear candidate for the hot corner in Dayton this season. Leandro Santana was the everyday third baseman in Billings in 2017 as he tied for second in the Pioneer League in games played. He projects as the Dayton third baseman in 2018. Additionally, Alejo Lopez, whose primary position is second base, saw action in 17 games at Billings last season when Santana needed a day off. Lopez was part of our second base preview. 
Leandro Santana is a 21-year-old native of the Dominican Republic. He was signed by the Reds as an international free agent prior to the 2014 season and spent his first year in professional baseball with the Reds team in the Dominican Summer League. He batted .303 in 40 games as a 17-year-old. In 2015, he jumped one level and came stateside to the Reds affiliate in Goodyear, Arizona where he spent a full season in the Arizona League. He struggled that season, batting just .190 in 39 games without a home run. The Reds sent Santana back to the same league in 2016, where he showed some improvement, batting .228 in 44 games and connecting on the first two home runs of his professional career. The Reds must have seen some potential in Santana because, despite the modest performance over two years in the Arizona League, they moved him up to Billings for 2017 and gave him regular playing time at third base. Santana responded with a breakthrough year.

With Billings in 2017, Santana, who had hit just two home runs in three previous seasons in professional baseball, blasted four homers in his first nine games. In the first half of the Billings season, a time frame that would equate to one-quarter of a Midwest League season, Santana hit eight home runs and drove in 28 runs while batting .275 with a .496 slugging percentage. His best game came on July 9 when he hit a grand slam home run and drove in seven runs. In the second half, Santana raised his batting average slightly and improved his walks-to-strikeout ratio but did not show the same home run power, connecting on three long balls. 
Santana finished the season at Billings with 11 home runs to lead the team. He also led the Mustangs in runs batted in with 43. He generally hit fifth or sixth in the Mustangs batting order. You can get a brief look at Santana's swing in this short video from RedsMinorLeagues.com.
Santana will be an interesting prospect to watch in 2018 with the Dragons. He showed a lot of improvement from 2016 to 2017, particularly in terms of home run power. His numbers at Billings would project to a 20+ home run season with the Dragons when factoring in that the Midwest League plays roughly twice as many games as the Pioneer League. If Santana can continue to show the same kind of improvement in 2018, he will jump onto the Reds top prospect list. He has good size at 6'2" and is listed at 175 lbs.
Next up: Outfielders
For Dragons 2018 season ticket information, call (937) 228-2287. 
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