Texas Rangers Top 20 Prospects: No. 18

No. 18: Miguel De Los Santos

LHP
6-1 - 170 - 3/17/86
La Romana, DR

Miguel De Los Santos was signed by the Texas Rangers as an undrafted free agent July 12, 2006, out of La Romana, D.R., by Danilo Trancoso. After signing, De Los Santos was assigned to the Dominican Summer League where he appeared in 13 games, posting a 1.59 ERA.

After splitting 2007 between the Dominican Summer League and the Arizona League, De Los Santos spent all of 2008 in the Arizona League starting 10 games with an 0-2 record and a 4.67 ERA.

In 2009, De Los Santos appeared in 22 games, all in the relief role, posting a 1-1 record with a 1.41 ERA.

De Los Santos split 2010 between Spokane and Hickory combining to go 4-2 with a 2.94 ERA and 112 strikeouts in 19 games, 13 of them starts.

De Los Santos was named the Rangers Minor League Pitcher of the Month for July 2010. In that month, De Los Santos recorded 40 strikeouts, which was good for second in the Northwest League and tied for 18th in all of Minor League Baseball. He finished the month with a 1-0 record and a 2.35 ERA, giving up six earned runs in 23 innings, while holding opposing batters to a .111 batting average.

 

Jamey Newberg's profile on Miguel De Los Santos:
Miguel De Los Santos, LHP

With his visa issues cleared up, De Los Santos was unleashed on the Low Class A South Atlantic League in 2010, and while his numbers were predictably not as gaudy as they'd been against Dominican Summer League teenagers in 2009, he was still a devastating weapon out of the Crawdads bullpen and projects as a late-inning power lefthander if he continues to progress.  The 21-year-old made six relief appearances and six starts for Hickory, holding the league to a .199 average and striking out an extraordinary 62 batters in 38.1 innings, though he did issue 24 walks.  Texas actually sent him down to Short Season-A Spokane in June to stretch him out as a starter before bringing him back up, and in seven starts at the lower level he posted a 1.69 ERA, fanning 50 batters and walking 20 in 32 innings while limiting the Northwest League to a helpless .116 batting average (helping to prompt Baseball America to name him the league's number 10 prospect).  Righties actually fared worse against De Los Santos at both levels, the result of a dirty change that he pairs with low-90s velocity and a plus curve.  This isn't a situational lefty that the Rangers are developing.

No. 19: 3B Mike Olt
No. 20: RHP Omar Beltre