OH, DANNY BOY

[Angels]

For a team that’s assembling prospects, rather than relying on Major League veterans, it’s always fun to see some of my young guys get their first cup of coffee in the big leagues. So far this spring, four IBC Indians have made their Major League debuts: Jace Peterson, Jesus Aguilar, Kyle Crockett (the first '13 draftee to make it), and Danny Santana.

Santana's short stint in the Majors has been exciting. He collected eight hits in his first seven Major League games for the Minnesota Twins and has hit .355/.412/.452 overall in 34 PAs. He’s also been impressive defensively in 7 games at shortstop and, somewhat surprisingly, 3 games—including 2 starts—in center field. (I like the headline I read the other day in the Minneapolis paper: “Danny Santana is a pretty good outfielder, considering he’s a shortstop.”)

Though he may be sent back to AAA when other teammates get hot or healthy, Ron Gardenhire clearly loves the 23-year-old Santana’s speed, athleticism, and the spark he’s brought to the Twins’ lineup. Though it’s likely that Santana is still Minnesota’s shortstop of the future (with Byron Buxton roaming CF), Gardy says that he’s very comfortable using Santana as a replacement for Aaron Hicks/Sam Fuld in the outfield, should their struggles continue.

There were a couple of other interesting quotes about Santana in that story I referenced from the Minneapolis paper. One was from Hall of Famer Paul Molitor, who said of Santana: “Terry Ryan spoke very highly of this kid’s ability for a long time … and I have seen it in action. We’ve got a little glimpse in the first week of the things he can do.” The other was from current Twins 2B Brian Dozier, who said that Santana’s “got some of the fastest hands I’ve seen. He reminds me of a young Jose Reyes.”