Deyvison De Los Santos Flashes Impressive Defense at First Base

Deyvison De Los Santos got the start at first, batting cleanup against the Mesa Solar Sox. Our No. 10 prospect has gotten all three of his starts at first base so far in the Fall League, with Colt Keith and Warming Bernabel having a higher priority to play at third. Jordan Lawlar was not in the lineup, with Masyn Winn getting the start at short.

In his first at-bat De Los Santos took two breaking balls to get to a 1-1 count before getting jammed by a sinker and hitting a broken bat roller to second. In his second trip to the plate, he was hit in the back by a 76 MPH curveball. In his third plate appearance, De Los Santos rolled the first pitch past Tyler Hardman for a double.

It's clear that opponents are making adjustments to his aggressive approach at the plate. Four of the five pitches he faced were breaking balls.

His defense at first has looked better with each passing game. Twice he showed the ability to make plays to his right and was able to cleanly vacuum up a 103 MPH ground ball hit right at him. He also picked out a low throw from Winn on an inning-ending double play in the seventh.

Kyle Backhus came in with two outs in the top of the fifth to face a string of left-handed hitters. After walking T.J. Rumfield in an eight-pitch at-bat, Backhus induced a ground ball to short for the final out of the inning. Those were the only two batters he faced on the night.