Hector Santiago: Starter or Reliever?

[Hubs]

Santiago is a starter. He'll be a starter. He walks too many batters to be a late inning reliever. 

 

He has potential as a starter, and success as a reliever. This team has a lot of late inning hard throwing right handers, but as far as lefty relievers they have only Burnett and Maronde? Perhaps he gets the Garrett Richards or Jerome Williams treatment, pitching half out of the pen and half out of the rotation, but that only happens if Skaggs, Shoemaker and/or Blanton earn starts. 

[Hubs]

Santiago I think will give the Angels what he gave the White Sox in 2013. When they consistently started him, his numbers were excellent. Why they pulled him from the rotation is a mystery.

[Docwaukee]

Santiago was really the Jewel of that trade imo.  Entering his 26yo season, club controlled, nice mix of multiple pitches. 

 

The only thing holding him back is his walk rate.  Otherwise, he holds down hits, misses bats, and doesn't give up the long ball too often. 

 

He only really became a starter in 2011.  He was a reliever for his first 4 years in the minors.  in 2011, he made 23 starts in the minors and was very solid.  Mind you, that was mostly at AA and he had never been a starter.  In 2012, he got the call and spent the year out of the Chisox pen making only 4 starts.  Then in 2013 he worked primarily as a starter posting a 3.5 era in his 23 starts.  The guy has had about 50 starts in his professional career so when taking that into account, that's pretty amazing for a guy to just jump into a rotation and post a mid 3's era

 

Also, he pitched in a bandbox of a home park and his splits reflect that.  He had a 4.08 home era and a 3.12 era on the road.  What happens when we put half of his games in Anaheim?

 

I think the ceiling on this guy is much higher than people are giving him credit for. 

 

Here's a cool comp from last year

 

player A

23 starts

130.2ip

ip/st 5.68

8.4 k/9

1.1 hr/9

4.27 bb/9

gb% 36.2%

3.51 era (home 4.08.  road 3.12)

 

player B

24 starts

154.1ip

ip/st 6.43

6.82 k/9

0.99 hr/9

2.16 bb/9

GB% 30.2%

3.27era (home 2.59, road 4.00)

 

player C

33 starts

212.1 ip

ip/st 6.43

k/9 7.97

hr/9 0.64

bb/9 3.64

gb% 44.4%

era 3.39 (home 2.55, road 4.13)

 

So player A is santiago, B is Weaver, and C is Wilson.  Not saying Santiago is either of those guys and with one season as a starter, the sample is small, but he seems a bit of a mix of both and I think it shows how the Halos home park can make a big difference.

 

I think he's going to be a little bit frustrating at first with his high walk rate and the fact that he doesn't get deep into games, but he prevents runs to the tune of a #3 starter and if he finds a bit more command, he could be even better.  I think if anyone has a shot to give us something more in line of what a true #3 would give, it's him.  Richards could as well, but I think we are going to see a bunch of very good starts from Garrett with a few blowups that balloon his era. 

 

I am not overly confident that they will instantly just fix Skaggs mechanical issues and he will just jump in and live up to his potential.  That's gonna take some time imo. 

[SoWhat]

Santiago was really the Jewel of that trade imo. Entering his 26yo season, club controlled, nice mix of multiple pitches.

The only thing holding him back is his walk rate. Otherwise, he holds down hits, misses bats, and doesn't give up the long ball too often.

He only really became a starter in 2011. He was a reliever for his first 4 years in the minors. in 2011, he made 23 starts in the minors and was very solid. Mind you, that was mostly at AA and he had never been a starter. In 2012, he got the call and spent the year out of the Chisox pen making only 4 starts. Then in 2013 he worked primarily as a starter posting a 3.5 era in his 23 starts. The guy has had about 50 starts in his professional career so when taking that into account, that's pretty amazing for a guy to just jump into a rotation and post a mid 3's era

Also, he pitched in a bandbox of a home park and his splits reflect that. He had a 4.08 home era and a 3.12 era on the road. What happens when we put half of his games in Anaheim?

I think the ceiling on this guy is much higher than people are giving him credit for.

Here's a cool comp from last year

player A

23 starts

130.2ip

ip/st 5.68

8.4 k/9

1.1 hr/9

4.27 bb/9

gb% 36.2%

3.51 era (home 4.08. road 3.12)

player B

24 starts

154.1ip

ip/st 6.43

6.82 k/9

0.99 hr/9

2.16 bb/9

GB% 30.2%

3.27era (home 2.59, road 4.00)

player C

33 starts

212.1 ip

ip/st 6.43

k/9 7.97

hr/9 0.64

bb/9 3.64

gb% 44.4%

era 3.39 (home 2.55, road 4.13)

So player A is santiago, B is Weaver, and C is Wilson. Not saying Santiago is either of those guys and with one season as a starter, the sample is small, but he seems a bit of a mix of both and I think it shows how the Halos home park can make a big difference.

I think he's going to be a little bit frustrating at first with his high walk rate and the fact that he doesn't get deep into games, but he prevents runs to the tune of a #3 starter and if he finds a bit more command, he could be even better. I think if anyone has a shot to give us something more in line of what a true #3 would give, it's him. Richards could as well, but I think we are going to see a bunch of very good starts from Garrett with a few blowups that balloon his era.

I am not overly confident that they will instantly just fix Skaggs mechanical issues and he will just jump in and live up to his potential. That's gonna take some time imo.

This x100000

[Angel Oracle]

Yep, my thoughts of Santiago being another Wilson aren't too far off.