Jean Carlos Santiago, International Man of Mystery: Top Angels Prospect Performances in 2011

Please note that the rankings below DO NOT comprise a traditional "best prospect" list. I simply ranked players according to their 2011 Wins Above Replacement ("WAR"), which provides a rough estimate of total contributions to their respective teams. 

21)  Jeff Baisley, 12/19/82 - 3B, AAA

.303/.355/.483 with 20 HR and 5 SB. +7 bat, +0 glove, 2.4 WAR

The Angels picked up Baisley as a minor league free agent last offseason to fill in for the injured Freddy Sandoval as Salt Lake third baseman and 4th guy down on the big league depth chart. He also provided a righty bat for the Bees' lineup, which leaned heavily to the left side in 2011. Through April and early May, he was among the hottest hitters in professional baseball, swatting 13 homeruns and flirting with a .400 average. He cooled considerably after the hot start and slugged over .400 in only one of the season's final four months. Despite the power drop-off, he showed good bat control and a knack for contact throughout the season, striking out only 85 times in 538 AB's, but the patience he flashed earlier in his career in the A's system largely disappeared. He put up a reverse split, hitting righties much harder than lefties (.910 OPS versus .684 OPS), which is unusual for a player in the upper minors but I don't think it's a fluke: every time I saw him, he'd mash some righty's curve ball with authority, showing the ability to hang in against breaking stuff. He's an average glove man at the hot corner.  Luis Jimenez' steady progress will likely end Baisley's time with the Angels, but his solid 2010 season means he'll catch on elsewhere (if he wants to). 

20)  Jean Carlos Santiago, 1/23/91 -lhsp, DSL Rookie Ball.

4 wins, 1 loss. 65 IP, 1.38 ERA, 82 K/12 BB. 18 runs saved, 2.4 WAR

Who is this mystery man with the 11.4 K/9 IP, and why do the Angels continue to stash him away in San Pedro de Macoris?  Seriously. Through three seasons with the DSL affiliate, the diminutive lefty has posted a 10 and 4 record with a 1.84 ERA and 196 K's in 180 innings.  He'll turn 21 in January, so he's still fairly young, but you'd think that those numbers would have earned him a plane ticket stateside by now.  The Angels have brought their Latin American pitching prospects over a year or two earlier in the past, so they must have their reasons here. We'll likely see him with a US-based affiliate in 2012, so will get a scouting report soon.