Domingo Santana

Santana homered in the Mariners' first game in Japan and had three homers in the team's first four regular-season games. There were the usual peaks and valleys from there until Santana went down in mid-August with what was effectively a season-ending elbow injury (he was activated Sept. 17 but only logged 10 at-bats the rest of the way). The total body of work was useful from a fantasy perspective, as Santana earned roughly $5 in 12-team mixed leagues and $8 in 15-teamers despite playing in only 121 games. The problem was that he was a sinkhole on defense, and his issues in the outfield negated his contributions with the bat from a real-world perspective. He needs to DH full time, and Seattle declined to tender Santana a contract in the offseason. If he moves on to another second-division AL team, he could be a value, but without a club or a defined role, Santana is a tough sell.

Big things seemed to be in store for Santana after he posted an .876 OPS in 2017, but he got off to a slow start and never recovered, spending all of July and August in the minors. Playing time won't be an issue in 2019, as he was traded to a rebuilding American League club (Seattle) that can hide his poor outfield defense in the DH spot. Regardless of where he is deployed, Santana will likely be given the chance to secure a spot in the heart of the Mariners' lineup. He needs to get his strikeout rate back under 30% (29.3 K% in 2017, 32.8 K% in 2018) and return to walking over 10% of the time (12.0 BB% in 2017, 8.5 BB% in 2018). While there were no major changes to his hard-hit rate, Santana's struggles in 2018 can partially be attributed to a decreased line-drive rate (27.4% to 23.4%). He does not turn 27 until August, so it is too soon to say his best years are behind him. His 2018 struggles should keep his draft-day price in a reasonable range.

Santana was viewed as something of a lottery ticket when acquired by the Brewers in 2015 as part of a multi-player trade, and the gamble paid off in a big way in 2017, as he finished among the top three on the team in the five standard fantasy hitting categories as well as OPS and games played. The stolen-base contributions were particularly surprising from Santana, as he went 15-for-19 on the basepaths to set a new career-best -- including his minor-league seasons. He showed a better eye at the plate with a career-best 0.41 BB/K and improved his power, particularly to the opposite field, as 14 of his home runs landed in the far right third of the outfield seats. He also handled both right-handed pitchers and lefties, so he is deserving of everyday at-bats. However, with the Brewers picking up both Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain during the offseason, his future is now somewhat murky. If he does wind up in position to play every day, the 25-year-old projects to be a reliable top-100 option in nearly every format.

Santana was never able to get settled in 2016, as injuries limited him to 77 games, and he didn't look like he was at full strength for much of the time he was healthy. Still, Santana finished with a respectable .256/.345/.447 line and 11 home runs, a pace of 23 over a full season. He offers plus-plus raw power to all fields, but we still haven't been able to see if he'll be able to make enough contact to be more than a low-average, 20-plus homer threat. Santana made tremendous strides last year to stop swinging at pitches out of the zone, which was his big bugaboo in Houston. He emerged as a Statcast darling, and his 96.3 mph average exit velocity led the majors in late April before injuries started to take their toll. In his age-24 season, he will be the everyday right fielder as long as he stays healthy. Santana has the upside to be a major fantasy asset who can be had a low cost if he can put his shoulder and elbow woes behind him.

Santana is a strikeout machine and has been since the Phillies signed him out of the Dominican Republic in 2009. That was no different in his first extended major league stint in 2015, split between the Astros and the Brewers, as Santana struck out an eye-popping 63 times in 52 games, at a 33.7% rate. Still, despite his whiffing ways, Santana hit a respectable .238/.337/.431, as he clubbed eight home runs and seven doubles and drew 20 walks in just 187 plate appearances. The secondary skills are definitely there for Santana, so if he can even improve his contact skills a tiny bit, there's huge upside. Milwaukee will be a great place for him to ply his trade, as Miller Park's short fences lend themselves perfectly well to his brute strength. Since 2012, Santana has 90 home runs in 384 professional games – just over two full seasons.

A mid-season injury to Dexter Fowler opened the door for Santana, who made his MLB debut in July despite Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow saying he still needed more development time in the minors. Luhnow was right, however, as the 22-year-old outfielder went 0-for-17 with 14 strikeouts in six big league games. Fortunately, Santana fared much better at Triple-A, slashing .296/.384/.474 with 16 home runs and 81 RBI in 120 games despite a 66 percent contact rate and 29 percent strikeout rate. The contact and strikeout rates have steadied around those levels in recent years, so some additional seasoning in the minors might be necessary, at least to open 2015.

Santana, a 21-year-old outfielder with impressive physical attributes (6-foot-5, 200-pounds) and ability, slashed .252/.345/.498 at Double-A last season with 25 home runs, 64 RBI and 12 steals over 112 games. His plate discipline remains a work in progress, as he fanned in 29.2 percent of his plate appearances, but the power is definitely legit. The next logical destination for Santana appears to be Triple-A, though some additional seasoning at Corpus Christi wouldn't hurt either. Now in possession of a 40-man roster spot, Santana should arrive in the big leagues at some point in 2014, with the opportunity to see regular at-bats upon promotion.

In his first full year as an Astros farmhand, Santana made his presence known, belting 23 homers, driving in 97 runs and slugging a robust .536. The 20-year-old set career highs in nearly every category, and has the physical tools to develop into a star if he can improve his eye at the plate. Santana is a free-swinger, which gets him into trouble at times. He will need to be a little bit more disciplined at the plate if he hopes for his power potential to translate as he reaches the upper minors.

Santana, who was sent to the Astros as the player to be named later in the Hunter Pence trade, caught fire with his new team, hitting five homers in his first 68 at-bats after posting just seven in his previous 350 at-bats. His .287/.362/.471 line will be nice if it carries through to the majors for those in more advanced leagues, but his 12-homer, five-steal season will drive down his value for those in traditional leagues. At 6-foot-5 and 200 pounds, the right-handed hitting outfielder is far from a finished product, but he has the physical tools to develop into a star if he can improve his eye at the plate and assuming he's able to generate power with his frame as he continues to advance.

Santana received an aggressive assignment to Low-A Lakewood as a 17-year-old to start last season. His .182/.322/.297 line after 165 at-bats forced the Phillies to reconsider their decision and Santana was demoted to Short Season Single-A where he was slightly better but saw his struggles with the bat continue. Scouts remain impressed with Santana's physical tools, and he is very young so it is much too early to write him off as a failed prospect. He'll probably start the year in extended spring training before the Phillies give him another shot at tackling Lakewood or Short Season ball.

Santana, a 6-foot-5, 18-year-old from the Dominican Republic, hit .288/.388/.508 with six homers, six doubles and 28 RBI in 118 at-bats for the Gulf Coast League Phillies last season. A player Santana's age from the Dominican Republic generally plays in the Dominican Summer League before coming to the states but Santana clearly impressed the Phillies' brass with his potential and delivered on his opportunity with a very solid year. He's a long way away from the majors but he is worth keeping an eye on.