Phillies should give Enyel De Los Santos a chance, but they can’t
By John Town
Enyel De Los Santos has been dominant in Triple-A this season. The Phillies should give him a chance in the majors, but they can’t yet.
When the Phillies traded Freddy Galvis to the Padres during the offseason, the move was more about clearing a spot for then-top prospect J.P. Crawford at the major-league level. The team received pitching prospect Enyel De Los Santos from San Diego, but at the time he wasn’t considered a high-end prospect.
Last year in Double-A with the Padres, De Los Santos had a 3.78 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 26 appearances. His strikeout rate jumped considerably compared to the year prior and he had a 7.8 percent walk rate.
Fast forward six months from the trade and De Los Santos looks like he could be a great major-league pitcher. Heading into Thursday he had a 1.70 ERA, 3.30 fielding-independent pitching, 3.10 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and 1.06 WHIP. His 26.6 percent strikeout rate is the best it ever has been since his professional debut in 2015. In his first 10 starts, he only allowed two or more runs three times.
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De Los Santos then pitched a gem Thursday for the IronPigs. It took him 87 pitches to get through eight innings, giving up just one run on a solo home run. In total, he gave up just five hits and didn’t walk anyone. He picked up seven strikeouts on the way to his sixth win of the season. This start lowered his ERA this season to 1.63.
De Los Santos started this season as the team’s No. 15 overall prospect according to MLB.com.
He moved up to No. 12 as other players graduated from the list. He pairs a mid-90s fastball with a good changeup. His curveball isn’t as good as his changeup, but it still has the makings of a decent pitch.
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This year in Triple-A, De Los Santos has done more than enough to show he deserves a chance at the major-league level. Had this been the Philadelphia team of the last few years, he would probably already have that chance. However, their starting pitching has been great, not needing much relief from the minors.
Aaron Nola and Jake Arrieta have both pitched like All-Stars this season with Nola becoming a candidate for the Cy Young Award. Nick Pivetta and Vince Velasquez have taken major steps forward and look like solid mid-rotation starters. Ben Lively was the only Opening Day starter who struggled, and Zach Eflin has done well to replace him since Lively went to the disabled list.
Eflin looked like he was losing his magic, then proceeded to allow one run in 7.2 innings Tuesday against the Cubs.
With the starting rotation performing so well, there’s no reason to call up De Los Santos at this time. That’s nothing against him; he has been pitching amazingly this season. There simply isn’t a spot for him in the major-league rotation. If someone gets hurt or begins to falter, De Los Santos should definitely be the one to get the call.
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De Los Santos should definitely get a chance in the majors at some point this season. Until then, he should continue to succeed with the IronPigs and help them find their own success.