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Domingo Santana really should go by the name, Sunday Santana.  How badass does that sound?  It kinda sounds like a gangbanger’s little sister.  “Hey, esse, you watch my hermana, Sunday Santana, while I go bang this gang?”  That is totally what a gangbanger says.  Crazy that I never heard back from Shawn Ryan on premaking The Shield with the hot-headed, plays-by-his-own-rules, high school crossing guard, Vic Mackey, in the 1980s.  “It’s like The Goldbergs meets The Shield.  Mr. Ryan, are you still there?”  That’s me prank calling the creator of The Shield.  Whatever you call Domingo Santana, one thing is for sure, you’re gonna be calling him a bonafide 2016 fantasy baseball sleeper (take that SEO, Bleacher Report!)  Is it me or when you read the word “bonafide” you want to slap on some suspenders and go to a barber shop?  It’s like the word bonafide should only be said by Coen brothers’ characters.  Okay, Cousin Sweatpants, you know I love me some Domingo Santana if you’ve only been reading this site for a few, but let’s embark on the Why.  Anyway, what can we expect of Domingo Santana and what makes him a 2016 fantasy baseball sleeper?

Here’s what I said previously, “According to some Jean Smarts at other sites, Domingo Santana made contact on only around 70% of minor league pitches that were in the strike zone over the past two years.  Only one other player in the minors was that bad (Rymer Liriano).  To put that in plain English, Domingo can’t hit balls that are in the strike zone.  So far this year in the majors, he has a 30% strikeout percentage.  What do all of these numbers mean?  He might hit .230 if he’s lucky.  So, why am I crushing on him so hard like I’m a Swede who just found a frozen time capsule filled with Frusen Glädjé?  Because Sunday Santana has 30-homer power and 15-steal speed, and kinda reminds me of a young Carlos Gomez with a bit less speed.  The same CarGo that struggled until he was 26 years old, and Domingo is only 23.”  And that’s me quoting me!  Sunday ended up striking out 33.7% of the time and hitting .238 with 8 HRs and 4 SBs in 52 games.  Let’s just do some rudimentary math and assume everything stays the same, he will hit 24 HRs, steal 12 bags and hit .240 next year.  I.e., be about as good as Justin Upton last year.  Yes, that Justin Upton.  The guy that hit 26 HRs, stole 19 bags and hit .251.  Someone else that had 23 HRs and 11 steals?  Andrew McCutchen.  Okay, he hit .292, but my point is 24 HRs and 12 SBs is valuable.  How likely is it that Domingo gets to those numbers?  Extremely doable with a full season of ABs.  In Triple-A, Santana had a Z-Contact% of 71.6, which is balls in the strike zone and is awful as previously mentioned in my quote.  But in the majors in 52 games, he had a Z-Contact% of 77.3.  That’s an improvement.  Still pretty terrible, but it wouldn’t even be the worst in the majors last year (Kris Bryant) and is about on par with the previously mentioned Justin Upton.  One small note (not small) about my 24 HRs, 12 SBs possibility is that he has a lot more power than he has speed.  He did have a high of 12 steals one year in the minors, but he’s a big guy (6-5, 225) with opposite-field power, not a 20/20 guy waiting to happen.  He seems likely to run into about 7-10 steals from hit and run plays and just getting a good jump, but he won’t challenge 20 steals.  If he makes contact and breaks out, he could be a 30+ HR, 10 SB guy.  If he whiffs more than your mother checking an old milk carton, then he doesn’t have a chance.  For 2016, I’ll give him the projections of 62/22/74/.233/8 with the chance for a lot more.  Every day of the week that’s a sleeper, especially on Domingo.