Roger Santana

ROGER SANTANA, LEFT HANDED PITCHER
Born: September 26, 1997
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 168
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
Signed: Int’l Free Agent, 2014, Pittsburgh Pirates
How Acquired: International Free Agent
Country: Dominican Republic
Agent: N/A

WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE

Santana is a left-hander who threw in the mid- to upper-80s when the Pirates signed him in 2014.  He also threw a curve.  By 2018 he was sitting at 92-93 and reaching 95, and showing a good changeup.

2015
DSL:  4-3-0, 5.66 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 47.2 IP, 2.6 BB/9, 5.9 K/9

Santana struggled through most of his pro debut.  Pitching strictly in relief, he posted a 7.56 ERA and 1.74 WHIP through July.  In August, though, the figures were 1.26 and 1.12, with a K rate that nearly doubled from the previous months.

2016
DSL:  1-6-0, 1.98 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 68.1 IP, 1.6 BB/9, 7.2 K/9

The Pirates sent Santana back to the DSL and moved him to the rotation.  He got much better results, although the ERA is misleading because 17 of the 32 runs he allowed were unearned.

2017
R:  2-4-0, 4.83, 1.59 WHIP, 41.0 IP, 3.5 BB/9, 6.8 K/9

Santana pitched mostly out of the rotation in the GCL.  He strugged with right-handed hitters, who posted a 314/378/464 line against him.

2018
R+:  5-6-0, 5.83 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 58.2 IP, 3.2 BB/9, 7.2 K/9

Santana spent the season in the Bristol rotation.  After a shaky first start, he pitched very well through the end of July.  He had one bad July start, but had a 1.38 ERA in his other five starts during that stretch.  In August, he had a very rough month, with an ERA of 8.06.

Despite the bad finish, Santana showed some encouraging signs in 2018.  When the short season teams started play in 2019, though, he was injured and it’s possible he’ll miss the season.

CONTRACT INFORMATION
2019: Minor League Contract
PLAYER INFORMATION
Signing Bonus: $100,000
MiLB Debut: 2015
MLB Debut: N/A
MiLB FA Eligible: 2020
MLB FA Eligible: N/A
Rule 5 Eligible: 2018
Added to 40-Man: N/A
Options Remaining: 3
MLB Service Time: 0.000
TRANSACTIONS
July 2, 2014: Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an international free agent.