Lefty
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Looks like he is coming out of his slump. Way too early to write off this guy.
Sidewinders' Santos feeling 'a lot better' after slow start
By Brian J. Pedersen
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Whether it be a hitless game or a hit-filled one, it's hard to tell by looking at Sergio Santos how things are going for one of the Diamondbacks' top prospects.
Despite starting the year in a vicious slump that had his batting average under the mythical Mendoza Line of .200 until this past week, the youngest member of the Sidewinders has never let his frustration - or elation - stand out.
"I know it's a numbers game, but even when you're doing well, you've got to put numbers aside," said Santos, a 2002 first-round draft pick in his first Triple-A season.
"Numbers are going to happen, it's more important how you feel. Whether I'm here for the whole year or I get a chance to go up, I've got to take each game pitch by pitch. I've got to slow it down."
Maybe the most anxious moment of Santos' season so far came just off the field a few weeks ago, when a foul ball bounced into the stroller of his infant son behind home plate. Six-month-old Kalani was unharmed.
Stuff like that makes hitting .155 in early May seem like nothing.
That was the low point, average-wise, for Santos after the first two weeks of the season. But the 21-year-old shortstop has raised his average to .222.
To look just at his batting average would belie the progress the 6-foot-2-inch, 239-pound Santos has made in his all-around game.
The rest of his offensive production ranks right up there with fellow prospects Conor Jackson and Carlos Quentin, and his defense has risen to a new level of fearlessness after surgery on his nonthrowing shoulder cut short his 2004 season.
"Sergio is a guy that's got a lot of physical tools," Sidewinders hitting coach Lorenzo Bundy says. "Sometimes you watch him take batting practice and you just go 'wow.' You see what a scout saw in making him a No. 1 draft pick."
Santos has eight home runs, second on the team to Scott Hairston's 11, and 32 RBIs through Friday.
"All my other numbers are pretty well except for the average," says Santos, who hit .282 with 11 homers and 52 RBIs in 89 games last season with Double-A El Paso. "It's just the way the game is. The past couple of weeks, I've thought I had better at-bats. I'm definitely feeling a lot better."
Santos had a pair of lengthy slumps in the first month of the season that really set his average back. Skids of 3 for 27 on the season-opening road trip and 2 for 29 at the end of April and beginning of May put him at .155 going into a May 5 home game against Sacramento.
Since then the average has made a steady climb, starting with that 2-for-3 game, and continuing through the 17-for-51 stretch he put together between May 20 and Friday.
Just as Santos has remained confident throughout, so has Sidewinders manager Chip Hale in his young shortstop.
"Offensively he's obviously under what we thought he'd be, but he's a much better hitter than that," Hale said May 4 when Santos was hitting .155. "Defensively he's done fantastic. He's probably exceeded what we expected."
Although Santos has committed 10 errors in 51 games, his range and arm have been spectacular. As long as he can remain consistent on defense, Santos says he has no reason to worry about his hitting.
"The thing for me is I know I can hit at any level, the biggest question was defense," said Santos, who had 86 errors in 273 games in his first three pro seasons. "Shortstop is such a demanding position. With everything repaired (in the shoulder) and in one place, it's easier for me to play hard. The way I feel now is unbelievable."
Bundy, whose pedigree as a hitting coach has earned him constant work as a manager in the Mexican winter league, points to Santos' growing awareness of the strike zone for his improvement of late.
Santos' 46 strikeouts through Friday are the most on the team, but after fanning 22 times in his first 83 at-bats he's learning to swing at the right pitches.
"His strikeouts are way down," Bundy said. "What he has got to learn is strike-zone discipline. Basically, older guys are getting him out by not throwing him a strike. He gets to the point where I think he guesses sometimes. We want to get him to where, if he's looking for a certain pitch, he's looking for the pitch in a certain situation or a certain count. He's gotten a little bit better at that."
Now above .200 for the first time all year, Santos no longer is the only Sidewinder whose batting average is not listed along with his name on the scoreboard when he bats. Not that such a thing matters to him, seeing as he hadn't been aware the stadium's scoreboard operators were trying to spare him.
"You shoot for a goal at a time," Santos said. "The first is to reach .200, then after that maybe with a good two weeks or two series, how about .220? You're not going to go from .200 to .330 overnight."
Said Hale prior to the team's recent four-game trip to Fresno: "He's definitely showing improvement, which we look for. He picked a good time to do it, because he was struggling and there was a lot of question (about him). We're just looking for progress. If he were to end up hitting .250, that would be a heck of a year for him, especially with the start."
Tracking Santos' average
.111 April 14: 3 for 27 on season-opening 8-game road trip
.188 April 23: 7 for 20 over 5-game hit streak
.155 May 4: 2-for-29 slump, lowest avg. since mid-April
.167 May 8: grand slam, season-best 5 RBIs in loss
.210 May 25: 9 RBIs in six-game hit streak
.222 Saturday: 41 for 185, 8 HRs, 32 RBIs
Slumping major-leaguers
Cristian Guzman, SS, Washington Nationals
Guzman, an All-Star with the Twins, signed for $16.8 million with the new team in the capital but has the worst batting average for an everyday player and is hearing boos from the hometown fans.
Adrian Beltre, 3B, Seattle Mariners
Seattle hoped his $64 million bat would pull the team out of its doldrums, but Beltre, who hit .334 for the Dodgers last season and led the NL with 48 homers, is hitting just .238 with five HRs.
Eric Chavez, 3B, Oakland AThletics
The constantly retooling Athletics kept Chavez when other stars left, but the third baseman is hitting only .230 with five home runs and 28 RBIs.
Statistics through Friday's games
Sidewinders' Santos feeling 'a lot better' after slow start
By Brian J. Pedersen
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Whether it be a hitless game or a hit-filled one, it's hard to tell by looking at Sergio Santos how things are going for one of the Diamondbacks' top prospects.
Despite starting the year in a vicious slump that had his batting average under the mythical Mendoza Line of .200 until this past week, the youngest member of the Sidewinders has never let his frustration - or elation - stand out.
"I know it's a numbers game, but even when you're doing well, you've got to put numbers aside," said Santos, a 2002 first-round draft pick in his first Triple-A season.
"Numbers are going to happen, it's more important how you feel. Whether I'm here for the whole year or I get a chance to go up, I've got to take each game pitch by pitch. I've got to slow it down."
Maybe the most anxious moment of Santos' season so far came just off the field a few weeks ago, when a foul ball bounced into the stroller of his infant son behind home plate. Six-month-old Kalani was unharmed.
Stuff like that makes hitting .155 in early May seem like nothing.
That was the low point, average-wise, for Santos after the first two weeks of the season. But the 21-year-old shortstop has raised his average to .222.
To look just at his batting average would belie the progress the 6-foot-2-inch, 239-pound Santos has made in his all-around game.
The rest of his offensive production ranks right up there with fellow prospects Conor Jackson and Carlos Quentin, and his defense has risen to a new level of fearlessness after surgery on his nonthrowing shoulder cut short his 2004 season.
"Sergio is a guy that's got a lot of physical tools," Sidewinders hitting coach Lorenzo Bundy says. "Sometimes you watch him take batting practice and you just go 'wow.' You see what a scout saw in making him a No. 1 draft pick."
Santos has eight home runs, second on the team to Scott Hairston's 11, and 32 RBIs through Friday.
"All my other numbers are pretty well except for the average," says Santos, who hit .282 with 11 homers and 52 RBIs in 89 games last season with Double-A El Paso. "It's just the way the game is. The past couple of weeks, I've thought I had better at-bats. I'm definitely feeling a lot better."
Santos had a pair of lengthy slumps in the first month of the season that really set his average back. Skids of 3 for 27 on the season-opening road trip and 2 for 29 at the end of April and beginning of May put him at .155 going into a May 5 home game against Sacramento.
Since then the average has made a steady climb, starting with that 2-for-3 game, and continuing through the 17-for-51 stretch he put together between May 20 and Friday.
Just as Santos has remained confident throughout, so has Sidewinders manager Chip Hale in his young shortstop.
"Offensively he's obviously under what we thought he'd be, but he's a much better hitter than that," Hale said May 4 when Santos was hitting .155. "Defensively he's done fantastic. He's probably exceeded what we expected."
Although Santos has committed 10 errors in 51 games, his range and arm have been spectacular. As long as he can remain consistent on defense, Santos says he has no reason to worry about his hitting.
"The thing for me is I know I can hit at any level, the biggest question was defense," said Santos, who had 86 errors in 273 games in his first three pro seasons. "Shortstop is such a demanding position. With everything repaired (in the shoulder) and in one place, it's easier for me to play hard. The way I feel now is unbelievable."
Bundy, whose pedigree as a hitting coach has earned him constant work as a manager in the Mexican winter league, points to Santos' growing awareness of the strike zone for his improvement of late.
Santos' 46 strikeouts through Friday are the most on the team, but after fanning 22 times in his first 83 at-bats he's learning to swing at the right pitches.
"His strikeouts are way down," Bundy said. "What he has got to learn is strike-zone discipline. Basically, older guys are getting him out by not throwing him a strike. He gets to the point where I think he guesses sometimes. We want to get him to where, if he's looking for a certain pitch, he's looking for the pitch in a certain situation or a certain count. He's gotten a little bit better at that."
Now above .200 for the first time all year, Santos no longer is the only Sidewinder whose batting average is not listed along with his name on the scoreboard when he bats. Not that such a thing matters to him, seeing as he hadn't been aware the stadium's scoreboard operators were trying to spare him.
"You shoot for a goal at a time," Santos said. "The first is to reach .200, then after that maybe with a good two weeks or two series, how about .220? You're not going to go from .200 to .330 overnight."
Said Hale prior to the team's recent four-game trip to Fresno: "He's definitely showing improvement, which we look for. He picked a good time to do it, because he was struggling and there was a lot of question (about him). We're just looking for progress. If he were to end up hitting .250, that would be a heck of a year for him, especially with the start."
Tracking Santos' average
.111 April 14: 3 for 27 on season-opening 8-game road trip
.188 April 23: 7 for 20 over 5-game hit streak
.155 May 4: 2-for-29 slump, lowest avg. since mid-April
.167 May 8: grand slam, season-best 5 RBIs in loss
.210 May 25: 9 RBIs in six-game hit streak
.222 Saturday: 41 for 185, 8 HRs, 32 RBIs
Slumping major-leaguers
Cristian Guzman, SS, Washington Nationals
Guzman, an All-Star with the Twins, signed for $16.8 million with the new team in the capital but has the worst batting average for an everyday player and is hearing boos from the hometown fans.
Adrian Beltre, 3B, Seattle Mariners
Seattle hoped his $64 million bat would pull the team out of its doldrums, but Beltre, who hit .334 for the Dodgers last season and led the NL with 48 homers, is hitting just .238 with five HRs.
Eric Chavez, 3B, Oakland AThletics
The constantly retooling Athletics kept Chavez when other stars left, but the third baseman is hitting only .230 with five home runs and 28 RBIs.
Statistics through Friday's games
