Cincinnati Reds: Mystery starter revealed with Ohio Cup on the line

Long time member of the Tribe is underrated

There must be something in the water in the state of Ohio when it comes to first baseman who reach base at a prolific rate. Playing in his 10th season in Cleveland, Carlos Santana has a career-OBP mark of .376 and like his Reds counterpart Joey Votto he’s not afraid to take a walk.

A switch hitter, Santana has crossed the century mark four times in free passes and has walked more than 90 times in eight different seasons throughout his 11-year career. The 34-year-old Dominican native earned a career and American League-high 113 base on balls during the 2014 season.

But like Joseph Daniel Votto, he’s not afraid to play long ball as well. Over the course of 162 games, Santana averages 26 round-trippers. Since the 2016 campaign, he’s hit at least 23 homers and matched his career-high of 34 in 2019 his lone All-Star season.

You want a player that’s durable? Carlos Santana is that guy as well. Since 2011, he’s had only one season in which he failed to appear in less than 150 games. What’s even more impressive is that he’s nowhere close to being a full-time in DH. In 1,224 career games, Santana’s appeared as a DH only 254 times. The guy is simply a gamer.

While Santana does not receive the accolades of teammates Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez, he’s an integral part of the Tribe. Any player that gets on base at a .367 clip in addition to a career .816 OPS is always welcomed and that’s exactly the kind of player Carlos Santana has been.