Astros select Bronx pitcher
High school righty Santos has shined in prospect showcases
Alex Santos is a Bronx boy. He grew from a 14-year-old thrower to bona fide prospect pitcher in the shadow of Yankee Stadium, starring at Mount St. Michael High School just 15 minutes from the venerated ballpark.
“I’ve been a Yankee fan my whole life,” Santos said Thursday, “but I think I switched over to the Astros now, man.”
Houston selected Santos with the 72nd pick in Thursday’s MLB Draft, bringing a big-bodied righthander from the Yankees’ backyard into its depleted farm system. Santos’ selection was the first of general manager James Click’s tenure — one of four picks the Astros made on the final day of this truncated five-round draft.
After picking a prep prospect, the Astros took two Southeastern Conference players — Vanderbilt closer Tyler Brown and Tennessee outfielder Zach Daniels — with their third- and fourth-round picks, respectively. Brown’s 17 saves during the Commodores’
2019 College World Serieswinning season are a program record. Daniels was authoring a breakout season for the Volunteers before the coronavirus pandemic, accruing a 1.228 OPS in 56 at-bats.
University of California shortstop Shay Whitcomb was picked in the fifth round.
Under former general manager Jeff Luhnow, the Astros trended more toward college players. In each of the last two drafts, Houston took college players with 18 of its first 20 picks. Generally, high school players are more difficult to sign given their college commitments.
For its four picks, Houston has just $2,202,600 to spend on signing bonuses — by far the lowest pool of any major league team. Commissioner Rob Manfred stripped the club of its firstand second-round picks as part of the punishment for stealing signs in the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
Santos has a college commitment to Maryland but said Thursday he is “leaning toward” signing with the Astros. His selection carries an $870,700 slot value. Teams normally agree to deals before a pick is made, but Santos said Thursday he did not know whether one was in place.
An 18-year-old who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 215 pounds, Santos did not pitch in a game for Mount St. Michael Academy this season due to the pandemic. He still ranked as Baseball America’s 45th- best prospect before the draft. MLBPipeline slotted him 56th, but Santos fell to Houston in the second competitive balance round.
“I was really excited,” Santos said in a Zoom interview that included boisterous family members and friends in the background. “I was definitely a little shocked, but I was really excited. As soon as I got picked, I got a little emotional, but I can’t wait to go out there and show you guys what I got.”
Though he did not appear in a game this season,
Santos separated himself from other high school talent with a stupendous showing on the 2019 summer showcase circuit. He appeared at the Prospect Development Pipeline in Florida and the High School All-Star Game at Progressive Field, allowing scouts to get an impression.
Last week, Astros domestic scouting supervisor Kris Gross extolled that summer evaluation of high school players, claiming this coronavirus-shortened draft might not be as college-heavy as most envisioned. Santos threw at the 2019 Perfect Game national showcase, too, touching 95 mph with his fastball.
“Not having the season probably didn’t hurt him as much as it hurt others because I think his stock was so high from last summer,” Mount St. Michael coach Wally Stampfel said.
Santos continued throwing bullpen sessions during the coronavirus shutdown. For each one, he utilized Rapsodo — a performance measuring device that tracks spin rates, velocity and other advanced analytics.
Santos made sure to deliver those numbers to prospective teams. For their part, the Astros sent a scout to meet in person with Santos at his Bronx-based training facility.
“It was a bummer I didn’t have a high school season, but Rapsodo came in clutch,” Santos said.
Santos complements his fastball with two breaking balls — a curveball and slider — and a changeup he hopes to develop more as a professional. He compared his mechanics to Cardinals ace Jack Flaherty and mindset of Max Scherzer.
“He would say Max Scherzer,“Stampfel said. “Me, as someone that’s a little bit older, would say Roger Clemens. ”
All 2020 draftees can receive a maximum of only $100,000 of their bonuses this year. The rest of the money is deferred — with 50 percent of the remainder due July 1, 2021, and the rest on July 1, 2022. The signing deadline is Aug. 1.