The Houston Astros endeared themselves to at least one member of the New York City baseball community on Thursday, by selecting Mount Saint Michael Academy RHP Alex Santos II with the No. 72 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft.
The Astros forfeited their actual first and second-round selections in the Draft as punishment for their cheating scandal, so the No. 72 pick was their top selection overall; it was a compensation pick, in fact the final comp pick of that portion of the second round, earned when the Yankees signed Gerrit Cole.
Santos II’s senior season was wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic, but his junior season earned him a spot on USA Baseball’s 18U National Team Trials roster last summer, where he was alongside two top Mets draft picks in Pete Crow-Armstrong and Isaiah Greene. He also took part in last summer’s Prospect Development Pipeline league at IMG Academy in Florida, being recognized as one of the Top 80 high school players in the country, and played in the Perfect Game All-American Classic.
Earlier this spring, Santos told Forbes that he idolized Derek Jeter growing up in the Morrisania section of the Bronx, and that he “models the mental part of the game on Max Scherzer and Marcus Stroman. I believe they have an aggressive attitude once they get on the mound. Like those guys, I feel like I am untouchable when I go out there.”
From Perfect Game’s scouting report:
Tall and projectable build with athletic actions. Big leg lift delivery with plenty of lower half coil over the rubber, fires his hips hard coming to the plate, long and loose arm action with some whip out front, high 3/4's arm slot that creates nice angle to the plate. Lots of things happening in his delivery but he's athletic enough to keep it together and on time, will occasionally drop his arm slot. Steady low 90's fastball, topped out at 93 mph, gets steep plane on the pitch and occasional arm side run, more velocity there in the future with additional strength, best fastballs are to the arm side. Has good feel for his slider and uses it to different spots and can change the angle and velocity, flashes some two-plane snap to it. Developing change up that shows promise and that he got an out with. Very good student, verbal commitment to Maryland. Named to play in the Perfect Game All-American Classic.
MLB.com, which had Santos ranked as the No. 56 prospect in the draft, had this to say:
There isn't a strong history of pitchers getting drafted and signing out of the New York City high school ranks. Leury Tejada was a 10th-rounder in 2018 who signed with the Rangers. Santos is a fellow Bronx native who has the chance to do much better than that after a strong summer showcase circuit performance that included a spot on USA Baseball's 40-man 18U National Team Trials roster. Santos is tall and projectable with long limbs who has the chance to have a three-pitch mix, though he's a bit raw. Over the summer, he consistently showed a fastball in the 90-94 range with good life, sitting in the 92-93 mph range in most of his outings. Given his size and a frame that should allow him to add strength, it's easy to dream about velocity gains. He'll throw a 76-78 mph slider to complement the fastball and he has good feel for a changeup that touches the low-80s. While he's more projection than now stuff, Santos did show an ability to pitch without his best stuff during the Area Code Games, pitching more off his changeup effectively. Teams might have to be patient, but the Maryland recruit is the kind of high-ceiling prep arms that many organizations covet.
