Santana Named IL Batter Of The Week

Catcher Carlos Santana was named the International League's Batter of the Week on Tuesday.  Santana entered the 2010 season as one of baseball’s most highly regarded prospects, and four games into his Triple-A career he has lived up to the hype. Santana is hitting .438 so far, and he leads the International League with 4 home runs, 8 RBI, 6 extra-base hits, a 1.313 slugging percentage, and 21 total bases. The Clippers have scored 41 runs in their first four games, thanks in large part to Santana.

On Opening Night at Huntington Park, Santana went deep twice while collecting four hits and four RBI in a 17-4 thrashing of Indianapolis. He added another long ball and three RBI the next night, plus a solo homer in the series finale on Sunday afternoon. Santana is the first catcher to be named IL Batter of the Week since Richmond’s Corky Miller in August of 2008.  The last Columbus catcher to be so honored was Izzy Molina in May of 1999.

Carlos Santana, who turned 24 on Opening Day Thursday, is in his fifth full season of professional baseball. Originally drafted by the Dodgers in 2005, Santana was traded to Cleveland in July of 2008 as part of the deal for Casey Blake. Santana was named MVP of the Class-A California League in 2008, and last year he was MVP of the Double-A Eastern League. Santana is a native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

per IL Press Release

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