We all know that he is still walking at an excellent rate despite his hitting struggles, but there are other positive indicators in his approach as well.
[F]or an organization frequently forced to trade away their pricier stars, looking to the future and delaying Santana's service time clock is the right move.
One scout said of Indians third base prospect Lonnie Chisenhall, "He's going to be a star. He's a bad---.'' (He meant that in a good way.) The scout said he sees him as the next George Brett but didn't wish to put Brett's name between quotes in a comparison because Brett "did get 3,000 hits.''
via Jon Heyman
With all the constant lineup changing, it's a fact that the Indians need to have a set order. I think I have the perfect one. 1. Asdrubal Cabrera SS 2. Luis Valebuena 2B 3. Grady Sizemore CF 4. Travis Hafner DH 5. Jhonny Peralta 3B 6. Shin Soo Choo RF 7. Michael Brantley LF 8. Jamey Carroll 1B 9. Carlos Santana C I know that Carroll isn't exactly a first basemen but he is way better than Marte. I also think that Shoppach is not consistent enough which is why I have Santana in there instead.
Featuring three Indians this week - Carlos Carrasco, Carlos Santana and Hector Rondon
Carlos Santana and Matt Laporta go 26 and 27 respectively, The Weglarz pops in at 58, and some respect for our boy Adam Miller in at 82. There's also an interesting link here, that breaks down their list looking at where these players signed from, if drafted where in the draft, nationality, etc.
Kevin Goldstein lists his top 100 prospects. Cleveland Indians' Matt LaPorta ranks at 30th, Carlos Santana at 33rd, and Nicholas Weglarz at 83rd.
Most of this is in Insider, but here's a short synopsis of the Cleveland players who made the list. 13. Carlos Santana: "Given his tremendous control of the strike zone and above-average power, he has very little to do to turn into an average big league catcher, but there's a high probability that he develops into much more." 27. Matt LaPorta: "LaPorta is what he is (or what you thought he was, if you thought about him at all before this sentence): a slow, patient slugger, stuck at first base, whose power and on-base skills will make him a productive middle-of-the-order hitter and who is ready for the majors now." 58. Adam Miller: "At this point, he just needs to stay healthy for a full year, and if the way to do that is in one- and two-innings bursts three times a week, so be it." 61. Nick Weglarz: "Weglarz is one of the most disciplined hitters in the minors -- he's drawn three fewer walks than Lars Anderson the past two years in more than 100 fewer plate appearances -- and only his uncertain power potential keeps him out of the top quarter of this list." 66. David Huff: "Huff will sit 89-92 now and touch 94, and he still has an excellent changeup. He throws both a slider and a curve, with the slider now showing solid-average, but the curveball has a chance to become at least fringe-average although its slow rotation means it probably won't be plus."
"A gritty (and now bearded) minor league veteran made good ..." What the hell, is Matt Eddy an LGT lurker? See also: their take on the Reyes-Perdomo swap.
Brief rundowns on Santana and Meloan by MLB.com's Kevin T. Czerwinski.