Talented Cubs Pitching Prospect Impresses in Arizona Fall League

Chicago Cubs pitching prospect Tyler Santana made his first start of the Arizona Fall League on Wednesday afternoon at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona.

It was Santana's third appearance of the fall, having pitched in relief twice already.

He got off to a rocky start in the Fall League, allowing four earned runs off a home run, five hits and two walks during his first appearance on Oct. 4.

Since then, however, Santana has been highly effective.

In his second appearance, he tossed three scoreless no-hit innings in relief and allowed zero walks.

Wednesday, Santana took the mound as a starter, his first start of the fall for the Mesa Solar Sox.

The right hander went 3 2/3 innings, allowing three hits, two walks and no runs, striking out two.

Since his first appearance, Santana has lowered his ERA from 15.43 to 4.00.

The Cubs' prospect pitched at Jacksonville University in college. After his senior year was wiped out due to the rapid spread of the Coronavirus, he was given an extra year of eligibility, which he used in 2021. Santana posted a 4.66 ERA and 1.236 WHIP across 15 starts and 100.1 IP in his final collegiate season.

In 2021, Major League Baseball shortened its Draft from 40 rounds to 20. After 20 rounds, Santana did not hear his name called.

A little over a week after the draft concluded, he signed a minor league contract with Chicago.

In his first full minor league season, Santana excelled at Single-A Myrtle Beach, where he logged an 11-1 record and a 2.28 ERA over 24 games and 98 2/3 innings pitched.

He struggled in 2023, clocking a 5.06 ERA and 1.390 WHIP in nine starts and 21 relief appearances.

Over Santana's last two Fall League appearances, the right-hander has allowed no runs, only three hits and two walks over 6 2/3 IP.

It looks like the 25-year-old is starting to find his groove.

While Santana pitched the first 3 2/3 innings of Wednesday's game, another Cubs' prospect, Chris Kachmar, finished the game.

He allowed two runs off two hits, one being a home run. He also struck out four and walked one batter.

Chicago infield prospect James Triantos led off the game for the Solar Sox, going 2-for-3 with a triple and a walk.

Triantos currently leads the Fall League in On Base Percentage (.588) and OPS (1.393).

Published Oct 19, 2023

JACK VITA

Jack Vita is a writer and contributor to Sports Illustrated's Inside the Cubs, and host of the Jack Vita Show, a popular sports podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and wherever podcasts are found. Jack is a 2017 graduate of Valparaiso University, in northwest Indiana. Since completing his degree, Jack has created his own independent sports media outlet (JackVita.com) and podcast (the Jack Vita Show). He has featured prominent guests from the worlds of sports and entertainment including Brian Urlacher, Scot Pollard, Bob Nightengale, Dan O'Dowd, and Survivor icons Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Cirie Fields, Danni Boatwright and "the Dragon Slayer", Coach Benjamin Wade. While studying at Valparaiso, Jack was the school newspaper's beat writer for the Valpo Crusaders men's basketball team, which won three straight Horizon League championships from 2015-2017. Traveling to cover the team, Jack had a front row seat to one of the nation's best mid-major teams, headlined by future NBA Draft pick Alec Peters and coached by NCAA Tournament hero Bryce Drew. Jack hosted a weekly sports radio show and provided play-by-play and color commentary services for ESPN 3 and the university's student radio station, WVUR-FM, 95.1 The Source, covering Valparaiso men's soccer, women's basketball, softball and volleyball. Jack also covered these sports, in addition to men's and women's tennis, baseball and women's soccer for the school newspaper, The Torch. While he was in college, Jack interned for and co-hosted Jewell On Sports, a sports radio program on AM 1050 WLIP in Kenosha, Wisconsin. There, he interviewed various pro athletes such as Ahman Green, Javon Walker and Javier Arenas, in addition to talking sports with the late, great Brad Jewell. Jack also interned for 22nd Century Media, a now defunct newspaper corporation that provided news to the North Shore of Chicago. With 22nd Century Media, Jack wrote post-game recaps, feature stories about local athletes, reviews of local restaurants and compiled the newspaper's "Pet of the Week" and "Athlete of the Week" sections, while providing copy-editing services. Before attending Valparaiso, Jack enrolled at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he studied for two years before transferring. He is a high school graduate of New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, Illinois. You can follow Jack on Twitter @JackVitaShow, subscribe to his podcast, the Jack Vita Show, wherever podcasts are found, and reach him via email at jack@jackvita.com.

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