RHP Alex Santos, Mount St. Michael HS [NY]
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DoB: 2/10/2002. Commitment: Maryland
I don't know what it is about this kid, I just like him as a prospect. New York City has produced some great players recently, including relievers Dellin Betances (Brooklyn) and Adam Ottavino (Brooklyn) and outfielder Harrison Bader (Bronx), though they only come around every once in a while. Santos is looking to join Bader in representing the Bronx as a projectable right handed pitcher with immense upside. That upside puts him firmly in the second tier of high school pitchers, and on my draft board, he's leading it.
Santos comes in with a low 90's fastball, and his big frame and high arm angle make it a tough pitch to square up. He adds a curve, changeup, and slider, with their levels of polish falling in that order. The curve is his best secondary pitch, coming in with sharp, two plane break at its best and looking like a true plus pitch at times. The changeup isn't quite there yet, but it's improving and looks like it could be a good pitch in time. Lastly, the slider is his fourth pitch, really just a more lateral version of his curve at this point without the sharp bite.
It all comes from an athletic and extremely projectable 6'3" frame, one which should easily add plenty of weight and which could enable him to add significant velocity. His loose arm is a big plus as well, and Santos could be sitting consistently in the mid 90's a few years from now. That curve is relatively inconsistent at this point, but he can rattle off some really good ones and it's pretty easy to project it as a plus pitch. He also throws strikes and has been making progress with the rest of his arsenal, and the hope is that pro coaching can help him leap forward.
It's hard to project draft positions for high school pitchers in a normal year, and the circumstances this year certainly don't make it any easier. If he's signable away from a commitment to Maryland, which it seems like he is, he has a shot to go anywhere from the back of the first round to the early second round. Personally, I would like him at the higher end of that range if I were drafting, and I wouldn't call it an overdraft if he went somewhere in the 30-40 range. He's a higher-risk pick than many other players in the same range, but he has ace upside and that ceiling could be too much to ignore once the draft flips to the comp rounds.
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