Phillies: Enyel De Los Santos named a top 20 Triple-A prospect
By John Town
Phillies pitching prospect Enyel De Los Santos was named a top-20 prospect in the International League by Baseball America.
Several Phillies pitching prospects expelled in 2018 at all levels of the minor leagues. One prospect who excelled in Triple-A was Enyel De Los Santos. Baseball America recognized his strong season, naming him the No. 18 overall prospect in the International League this year.
De Los Santos was also named a Triple-A All-Star by BA along with fellow IronPig Cole Irvin. At midseason, BA named De Los Santos the No. 5 prospect in the system. When they release their postseason list, he should still be in the top-five.
De Los Santos finished the year with a 2.63 ERA in 22 Triple-A starts. In 126.2 innings, he struck out 110 batters, walked 43, and allowed 12 home runs. De Los Santos posted a 1.16 WHIP, 4.04 fielding-independent pitching, and opposing hitters batted .221 against him.
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Philadelphia called De Los Santos up in July to make two starts. His numbers weren’t great, giving up eight runs on 12 hits, four walks, and two home runs in 10.2 innings. He has made three relief appearances in the majors and has looked better, allowing five hits and one walk with four strikeouts in 5.1 innings.
When looking at De Los Santos’s tools, BA’s Bob Dutton credited improvement in De Los Santos’s changeup, which now flashes above-average or better. However, Dutton stated that De Los Santos still needs to improve his curveball to become a major-league caliber starter. Otherwise, he may be stuck as a reliever long-term.
Looking towards 2019, it’s likely De Los Santos will start the year again in Triple-A. The major-league rotation will likely remain the same barring any injuries. Even then, Jerad Eickhoff is more likely to take an open spot. De Los Santos would be one of the first call-ups from Triple-A when the team needs reinforcements.
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There is even a chance they convert him to a reliever as they did with Seranthony Dominguez. It may make his fastball and changeup play up, but it would also limit his ceiling overall.