Yesterday, the long odds that Matt LaPorta and Lou Marson faced as they try to construct major league careers were outlined—this was not a pleasant undertaking. So, I decided to go looking for a more optimistic set of historical comps. What better place to start than young Carlos Santana, the Indians switch-hitting, mashing catcher. Here's what I wanted:
- Played 180 games or more in his first two seasons (Santana is at 201), post integration
- Played predominantly catcher, to the tune of 60% of his games during his first two seasons (Carlos went 135/201)
- Really hit in his first two seasons, OBP over .340 and SLG over .440, as well as OPS+ over 120 (Carlos' career line is .244/.362/.459, with a 128 OPS+).
By far the most stringent requirement here is that the player arrives on the scene raking, as Santana did. If you allow players to use their totals over their first three, four, or five seasons, you expand Santana's comp list to players like Alex Avila, Mike Piazza, Mike Napoli, and Roy Campanella. With that in mind, who are Santana's comps by these criteria?
Rk | Player | HR | G | From | To | Age | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | HBP | SH | SF | GDP | SB | CS | Pos | Tm | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Carlos Santana | 33 | 128 | .362 | .459 | 201 | 2010 | 2011 | 24-25 | 850 | 702 | 107 | 171 | 48 | 2 | 101 | 134 | 9 | 162 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 18 | 8 | 3 | .244 | .821 | *2/3D | CLE |
That's the whole list. What about just as a hitter?
Rk | Player | HR | G | From | To | Age | PA | 2B | 3B | BB | SO | Pos | Tm | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Frank Thomas | 39 | 179 | .453 | .547 | 218 | 1990 | 1991 | 22-23 | 940 | 42 | 5 | 182 | 166 | .321 | 1.000 | *D3 | CHW |
2 | Albert Pujols | 71 | 154 | .399 | .586 | 318 | 2001 | 2002 | 21-22 | 1351 | 87 | 6 | 141 | 162 | .321 | .984 | 7/539D6 | STL |
3 | Eddie Mathews | 72 | 145 | .366 | .541 | 302 | 1952 | 1953 | 20-21 | 1274 | 54 | 13 | 158 | 198 | .274 | .907 | *5 | BSN-MLN |
4 | Mitchell Page | 38 | 145 | .380 | .490 | 292 | 1977 | 1978 | 25-26 | 1171 | 53 | 15 | 131 | 190 | .296 | .870 | *7/D9 | OAK |
5 | Mickey Mantle | 36 | 143 | .377 | .497 | 238 | 1951 | 1952 | 19-20 | 1012 | 48 | 12 | 118 | 185 | .294 | .874 | *89/5 | NYY |
6 | Wade Boggs | 10 | 141 | .431 | .470 | 257 | 1982 | 1983 | 24-25 | 1066 | 58 | 8 | 127 | 57 | .357 | .900 | *5/3D7 | BOS |
7 | Ryan Braun | 71 | 140 | .350 | .588 | 264 | 2007 | 2008 | 23-24 | 1155 | 65 | 13 | 71 | 241 | .301 | .937 | *75/D | MIL |
8 | Curt Blefary | 45 | 140 | .376 | .469 | 275 | 1965 | 1966 | 21-22 | 1069 | 37 | 7 | 161 | 129 | .258 | .845 | *7/93 | BAL |
9 | Will Clark | 46 | 139 | .359 | .521 | 261 | 1986 | 1987 | 22-23 | 1046 | 56 | 7 | 83 | 174 | .299 | .880 | *3 | SFG |
10 | Frank Robinson | 67 | 138 | .378 | .543 | 302 | 1956 | 1957 | 20-21 | 1345 | 56 | 11 | 108 | 187 | .307 | .920 | *7/83 | CIN |
11 | Jeff Bagwell | 33 | 137 | .377 | .440 | 318 | 1991 | 1992 | 23-24 | 1347 | 60 | 10 | 159 | 213 | .283 | .818 | *3 | HOU |
12 | John Kruk | 24 | 137 | .405 | .463 | 260 | 1986 | 1987 | 25-26 | 854 | 30 | 4 | 118 | 151 | .312 | .869 | 3/79 | SDP |
13 | Alvin Davis | 45 | 136 | .386 | .469 | 307 | 1984 | 1985 | 23-24 | 1355 | 67 | 4 | 187 | 149 | .286 | .855 | *3/D | SEA |
14 | Tony Conigliaro | 56 | 135 | .345 | .520 | 249 | 1964 | 1965 | 19-20 | 1030 | 42 | 7 | 86 | 194 | .278 | .865 | *9/78 | BOS |
15 | Josh Hamilton | 51 | 133 | .370 | .538 | 246 | 2007 | 2008 | 26-27 | 1041 | 52 | 7 | 97 | 191 | .300 | .908 | *8/9D7 | CIN-TEX |
16 | David Wright | 41 | 133 | .371 | .524 | 229 | 2004 | 2005 | 21-22 | 940 | 59 | 2 | 86 | 153 | .302 | .895 | *5 | NYM |
17 | Mike Stanton | 56 | 132 | .344 | .525 | 250 | 2010 | 2011 | 20-21 | 997 | 51 | 6 | 104 | 289 | .261 | .869 | *9/8D | FLA |
18 | Eddie Murray | 54 | 131 | .345 | .475 | 321 | 1977 | 1978 | 21-22 | 1356 | 61 | 5 | 118 | 201 | .284 | .820 | *3D/75 | BAL |
19 | Evan Longoria | 60 | 130 | .355 | .528 | 279 | 2008 | 2009 | 22-23 | 1179 | 75 | 2 | 118 | 262 | .277 | .883 | *5/D6 | TBR |
20 | Jimmie Hall | 58 | 130 | .340 | .500 | 305 | 1963 | 1964 | 25-26 | 1133 | 41 | 8 | 107 | 213 | .271 | .840 | *8/79 | MIN |
21 | Darryl Strawberry | 52 | 130 | .340 | .487 | 269 | 1983 | 1984 | 21-22 | 1075 | 42 | 11 | 122 | 259 | .254 | .827 | *9/8 | NYM |
22 | Orlando Cepeda | 52 | 129 | .349 | .517 | 299 | 1958 | 1959 | 20-21 | 1291 | 73 | 8 | 62 | 184 | .315 | .866 | *3/75 | SFG |
23 | Wally Joyner | 56 | 128 | .357 | .492 | 303 | 1986 | 1987 | 24-25 | 1327 | 60 | 4 | 129 | 122 | .288 | .848 | *3 | CAL |
24 | Bobby Bonds | 41 | 128 | .346 | .451 | 239 | 1968 | 1969 | 22-23 | 1069 | 35 | 11 | 119 | 271 | .257 | .798 | *98 | SFG |
25 | Carlos Santana | 33 | 128 | .362 | .459 | 201 | 2010 | 2011 | 24-25 | 850 | 48 | 2 | 134 | 162 | .244 | .821 | *2/3D | CLE |
26 | Adam Dunn | 45 | 126 | .391 | .493 | 224 | 2001 | 2002 | 21-22 | 962 | 46 | 3 | 166 | 244 | .253 | .884 | *7/93D | CIN |
27 | Hank Aaron | 40 | 125 | .347 | .499 | 275 | 1954 | 1955 | 20-21 | 1174 | 64 | 15 | 77 | 100 | .299 | .846 | 79/4 | MLN |
28 | Harry Anderson | 40 | 125 | .355 | .493 | 258 | 1957 | 1958 | 25-26 | 1036 | 49 | 10 | 95 | 156 | .286 | .848 | *7/39 | PHI |
29 | Ichiro Suzuki | 16 | 123 | .385 | .441 | 314 | 2001 | 2002 | 27-28 | 1466 | 61 | 16 | 98 | 115 | .336 | .826 | *9/D8 | SEA |
30 | Hideki Matsui | 47 | 123 | .371 | .477 | 325 | 2003 | 2004 | 29-30 | 1375 | 76 | 3 | 151 | 189 | .292 | .848 | *7/8D | NYY |
31 | Ken Griffey | 38 | 123 | .350 | .454 | 282 | 1989 | 1990 | 19-20 | 1172 | 51 | 7 | 107 | 164 | .284 | .805 | *8/D | SEA |
32 | George Scott | 46 | 122 | .348 | .449 | 321 | 1966 | 1967 | 22-23 | 1322 | 39 | 14 | 128 | 271 | .273 | .796 | *3/5 | BOS |
33 | Andrew McCutchen | 28 | 121 | .365 | .459 | 262 | 2009 | 2010 | 22-23 | 1146 | 61 | 14 | 124 | 172 | .286 | .824 | *8 | PIT |
34 | Miguel Cabrera | 45 | 121 | .352 | .497 | 247 | 2003 | 2004 | 20-21 | 1031 | 52 | 4 | 93 | 232 | .285 | .850 | 79/5D | FLA |
I think the Indians might have something in Carlos Santana.