According to Keith Law the Cleveland Indians Carlos Santana is the best pitching prospect in baseball. He is 23 and nearly ready to make the jump to the major league level. Here is his scouting report.
Santana could be the Victor Martinez who can actually catch -- a switch-hitter with legitimate plate discipline and power with good receiving skills and an above-average arm. Cleveland swiped Santana from the Dodgers in the Casey Blake deal because they were willing to send L.A. the $2 million required to pay Blake's salary the rest of the way; in other words, they paid roughly what the ninth or 10th pick in a typical Rule 4 draft gets and ended up with the third-best prospect in baseball, a return on investment that Indians GM Mark Shapiro probably would take eight days a week. At the plate, Santana does start his hands a little deep, but he uses that to create great leverage in his swing as he explodes from his loaded position to the ball, with both hard contact and good loft when he squares a pitch up -- something he does quite often with an approach one Cleveland executive called "selective-aggressive," meaning Santana works the count but is more than happy to jump on a pitch he can hit early in an at-bat. He's a good athlete and runs well for a backstop. Santana has good hands behind the plate and arm strength, and he has shown progress in the one deficiency in his catching, his ability to handle a staff and work with pitchers. Lou Marson might be the starting catcher this April in Cleveland, but the job should be Santana's by September.
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