Yordany De Los Santos struggled in his second go around with Bradenton
For last two years, De Los Santos has excelled in the FCL before struggling in Single-A
The Pirates' team in the FCL was one of the best in the entire league, and infielder Yordany De Los Santos was among the reasons why.
De Los Santos has been one of the best players in the Complex for the last two years. The numbers don’t lie.
He finished third in the FCL in 2024 with a .344 batting average and has hit well in his two years while down in the complex.
De Los Santos has 294 plate appearances across the 2023 and 2024 seasons in the FCL, hitting .340/.404/.494 with six home runs (24 extra-base hits) and stole 37 bases on 44 attempts.
He also played a strong shortstop, one of the better defensive infielders in the system.
However, in two attempts at the Single-A level with Bradenton, he has yet to get those results to show up.
Bradenton Numbers
.189/.314/.259, 2 HR, 10 XBH, 32.2 K%, 13.7 BB%, 254 Plate Appearances
After a promotion near the end of the 2023 FCL season, De Los Santos played 38 games with the Marauders to close the year. He hit just .184/.322/.256 with one home run and nine stolen bases while striking out 39.2% of the time. That was a stark increase from the 14.1% rate he had in the FCL.
The fact he was on the younger side, he won’t turn 20 until February, he began the 2024 season back in the Complex League since the schedule started a month sooner.
After the FCL season, De Los Santos got another shot with the Marauders, playing another 25 games.
Things went marginally better, but it was still underwhelming. In 25 games (101 plate appearances), De Los Santos hit .189/.314/.259, with two home runs, 10 stolen bases, and a 72 wRC+.
Perhaps the most encouraging thing to come out of 2024 was the drop in strikeouts. After punching out 39.2% of the time in 2023, he cut that back down to 21.8%.
Despite the drop in strikeouts, YDLS still struggled with chasing out of the zone. He’s also struggled to impact the ball, with below-average exit velocities throughout.
The talent is there for De Los Santos, and he will likely get his third shot to make it work in Bradenton while still being young for the level. This time, he should get the opportunity out of the gate.
There is some talent on the hitting side of things in the lower levels for the Pirates, but they are waiting for someone to put it all together. If he can put things together, it would be a huge win for the development team, considering the investment ($1.2 million bonus) and the position he plays.
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I am Groot.
Tony Blanco 1B, Carlos Caro 2B, YDLS SS, Jhonny Severino, 3B, and Richard Ramirez at C are really young and they looked really good in the FCL. This group has hitting and pitching, but be patient. Love that Severino took charge with the bat in A, and there are a few others who were already into A ball early in the season. Keep them together and let them work together to get better. They were a strong team in the FCL and will be strong in A Ball in 2025. I thought that YDLS made a lot of improvement at A this year, but still has a ways to go. Very nice to have talent like that.