If Santana keeps his OPS north of .840 and strikeouts down (only 18 in his past 20 games), I see no reason for him to not get the nod over Tucker. Maybe more extra base hits? He only has 10 in the past 25 games. His BAbip is also .383 on the year, so he could be due for some regression. That being said, I have been wanting to see him called up at the Super 2 deadline. My prediction as of now is September call up if not the AAA All Star break.
I think Tucker profiles as a more advanced hitter but he lacks the ancillary skills that Santana offers (athleticism in outfield, throwing arm, etc).
I see no reason the Astros call up Santana quickly. He's still ridiculously young. He certainly doesn't fit the "nothing to prove in the minors" mold. And there's no reason to think his development would be stalled by being in AAA right now. Springer and Singleton at time of call-up literally had no business being in the minors.
He's only a year younger than Singleton... and if he's a better option in LF than Grossman or Pressley (which is not that big of a stretch), and would make this team better, he should get consideration. The fact that the team has him at AAA now is more of a sign that he'll get promoted sooner rather than later (if he still needed a lot more "developing", he'd be better off facing the up-coming arms at AA vs. the re-treads/never has-beens at AAA). There's also no reason to think his development would get stalled by being promoted to the majors.
You just listed reasons for why he can be called up. But none of them states why he must be called. The last time I checked, the Astros aren't in the business of starting the arbitration clock until they absolutely have to.
Which to me would seem like we have the following options: 1. Santana is safe to call up in late June due to the Super 2 deadline passing 2. Santana would come up at any time due to reaching a Singleton type deal that rewards him before or shortly after coming up (wouldn't count on this) 3. Pressley/Grossman both prove worthy of playing time and Santana is in no rush (may as well figure out if one can suffice as an everyday player while we have them). Santana then finishes the year in AAA and develops futher with a chance as a September call up. 4. Santana is the opening day left fielder in 2015. I think this is the LEAST likely unless he really has a great 2014. We have already seen how important the extra contract years have been. 5. Santana is called up after the Super 2 in 2015. I think 5 is slightly more likely than 1 in my opinion (no reason in particular), but I feel like Santana will not come up unless it makes sense for both the club and future club control.
That's why they'll see if the player will sign the deal... also, Santana is already on the 40 man roster. If this team is within striking distance, and they're still struggling to get production from LF (and Santana is still producing well at AAA), there will be a lot of questions as to the merit of continuing to keep him down there.
[rquoter]Houston Astros: Brady Aiken, LHP Aiken was the best player in the draft class and the first overall pick, but he's entering the majors' top farm system. Shortstop Carlos Correa is the No. 2 prospect in all of baseball, behind only Minnesota's Byron Buxton, and I believe reports of Mark Appel's demise as a prospect are exaggerated, as he has still been hitting 95-97 despite struggling with a nerve issue in his thumb and having no command in his last outing for Lancaster. I'd put Aiken after those two but ahead of right-hander Mike Foltynewicz and third baseman Rio Ruiz.[/rquoter] Keith Law has Appel ahead of Aiken...
I disagree. Not sure if this was mentioned, but they aren't going to delay the clock on every above average prospect in the system just for the sake of doing so. Santana isn't an indispensable piece of the rebuild like Springer and Singleton. Worrying about his salary 5+ years down the line so much so that they leave him in AAA for 1.5+ years would be nutso. I'd bet my bottom dollar that he's in the bigs this season, barring injury.
I stand by the thought that we have blown Appel's terrible start way out of whack. Hopefully his next start shows his healthy stuff and the reason why we drafted him.
Just traded Adron Chambers to the Blue Jays for LHP Alejandro Solarte and IF Will DuPont. There goes that log jam.
I agree with this. If the kid is still mashing, there is no chance it's next June before we see him in Houston...especially with a continued lack of production from LF. I think the worst case is Santana is a Sept call up.
Santana is promoted when he is ready, regardless of the current LF production. I suspect that the Astros are placing more value on player development versus winning now in The Bigs.
Alejandro Solarte (19 years old) and Will DuPont (20 years old) both played in Gulf Coast League in 2013.
Traded a guy who would never be a factor on the major league team for a couple of lottery tickets. Nice.
