On the Farm: Robinson, Santana, Seaton

Check out cchooks.com as we spotlight select farmhands in the Astros minor league system. Today, we profile Andrew Robinson, Domingo Santana and Ross Seaton.

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Andrew Robinson

Pitcher
Height:  6-1
Weight:  199
Born:  2/13/88 in Macon, GA
Bats/Throws:  R/R
Resides:  Senoia, GA

School:  Georgia Tech.  A four-year letter winner for the Yellow Jackets, went 4-0 with a 2.43 ERA in 2010, going 8-for-8 in save chances. 

Acquired:  Selected by the Astros in the 12th round of the 2010 draft. 

Career Highlights:  2011 - Tied for third among Houston farmhands in victories.  Was third on the Lancaster staff in innings pitched while ranking fourth in starts and strikeouts.  First six appearances of the season came with Lancaster, then spent a week on the road with the Hooks in early May.  Tossed two innings of shutout relief at San Antonio May 8 in his Hooks debut.  Was back in Lancaster by May 15 when he limited Lake Elsinore to a run over 3.1 innings of relief to pick up the win.  Best start with the JetHawks came August 20 at Stockton when he fanned a season- and career-high 12 batters over 6.1 shutout innings to beat the Ports 3-0.  Allowed just 3 hits and did not issue a walk in that start.  Won his next two starts as well, posting a 1.93 ERA over those three games (August 20-31) with 1 walk and 24 strikeouts in 18.2 innings.  Best relief outing came May 4 vs. Rancho Cucamonga; tossed 4.1 shutout innings with just 2 hits allowed.  Was 2-1 with a 3.98 ERA in eight relief outings for the JetHawks.  Was one of three Lancaster hurlers to toss a complete game: August 31 vs. Visalia (7.0-7-2-2-0-7, W). 

2010 - Started his final seven games of the season, going 3-2 with a 2.23 ERA.  Held opponents to 2 or fewer runs in each of his last six starts.  Averaged 7.67 strikeouts and 1.67 walks per nine innings for Tri-City. 

Career stat note:  Has a 1-to-3.07 walk-to-strikeout ratio.      

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Domingo Santana

Outfielder
Height:  6-5
Weight:  200
Born:  8/5/92 in Santo Domingo, DR
Bats/Throws:  R/R
Resides:  Santo Domingo, DR

Acquired:  Via trade from Philadelphia, along with RHP Jarred Cosart, RHP Josh Zeid, and OF Jonathan Singleton, for Hunter Pence, in July, 2011.  Originally signed by the Phillies as a non-drafted free agent in March, 2009. 

Career Highlights:  2011 - Tabbed by Baseball America as Houston's No. 6 prospect entering the 2012 season.  Was a combined .287 with 33 doubles, 4 triples, 12 home runs and 53 RBIs between Lakewood and Lexington.  Led the South Atlantic League in getting hit by a pitch (17), this despite not getting hit in his first 23 games.  Had a strong May, batted .320 with 5 doubles, 2 triples, 4 HRs and 8 RBIs in only 19 games, with a .978 OPS.  Joined the Legends in mid August and hit safely in 14 of his 17 games, with a .447 OBP and a 1.109 OPS in 68 at-bats.  Racked up a 10-game hitting streak August 22-September 2, going 18-for-41 (.439) with 4 doubles, 4 HRs and 14 RBIs.  Was torrid for Lexington with runners in scoring position, batting .600 (9x15) with 2 HRs and 16 RBIs.  Overall hit .310 in 61 SAL road games with 19 doubles, 2 triples, 7 HRs and 31 RBIs. 

2010 - Began the season at Lakewood and was reassigned to short-season Williamsport in June.  Went 3-for-3 with a double, 2 HRs and 4 RBIs to lead the Crosscutters to a 5-3, Opening Day win over State College June 18.  Ripped off a nine-game hitting streak July 20-30, going 13-for-34 (.382).  Was significantly better at home (.311-4-16 in 29 games) than on the road (.145-1-4 in 25 games). 

Career stat note:  Has a .422 slugging percentage, with 39 percent of his hits going for extra bases.  Also, has played 176 games in RF and 8 in LF, with the rest of his time as a DH.             

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Ross Seaton

Pitcher
Height:  6-4
Weight:  201
Born:  9/18/89 in Tulsa, OK
Bats/Throws:  L/R
Resides:  Katy, TX

Acquired:  Selected in the third round (supplemental) of the 2008 draft. 

Career Highlights:  2011 - One of only five pitchers in franchise history to be selected the Texas League's Pitcher of the Week at least twice in the same season, joining Dallas Keuchel ('11), Polin Trinidad ('09), Chance Douglass ('07) and Jason Hirsh ('05).  First honored for the week July 11-17 when he subdued Northwest Arkansas (6.0-3-1-1-0-5) in a no-decision.  Completed the double the week of August 8-14 with starts against Midland and Springfield in which he allowed just 1 run on 7 hits over 13.0 innings, with 2 walks and 12 strikeouts.  Did not get a decision in either of those outings.  Led the Hooks and the Texas League in starts, posting the second highest single-season total in team history.  Also ranked fourth in the circuit in innings pitched and was fifth among starters in fewest base runners allowed per nine innings (12.89).  Struck out a season-high 7 batters August 31 vs. Frisco, holding the RoughRiders to 2 runs on 4 hits over seven innings without issuing a walk.  Took a no-decision in that start as well. 

2010 - Tied for first in the California League with 28 starts.  Led Lancaster in innings pitched and ranked third in victories.  Earned pitcher of the month honors for the JetHawks in July, going 2-1 with a 4.67 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 34.2 innings.  Tossed 7.1 innings of shutout ball July 11 at Inland Empire to lead the JetHawks to a 4-0 win.  For the year, held opponents to a .238 average with runners in scoring position and two outs. 

2009 - His ERA ranked fifth among Houston farmhands.  Jumped out to a great start, going 4-1 with a 0.91 ERA in his first five outings.  Hurled a nine-inning, complete-game shutout June 1 against Augusta, allowing just 3 hits while striking out 6.  That performance gave him a 6-4 record with a 2.44 ERA after his first 10 starts.  For the season, held opponents to 3 or fewer runs in 17 of his 24 appearances.  Proved tough on lefties, holding them to a .235 average over 200 at-bats.  Also held opponents to a .213 average with runners in scoring position. 

2008 - A valedictorian at Second Baptist High School in Houston, was 8-2 with a 1.32 ERA his senior season.  Struck out 120 over 74 innings.  Earned two All-State selections and was rated by Baseball America as the top high school pitcher in Texas following the 2008 school year. 

Career stat note:  Has not missed a turn in the rotation since July of 2009, spanning 63 starts.