Fansided

Minnesota Twins Danny Santana: Deep Waiver Wire Add

By Brad Kelly

Mar 21, 2016; Fort Myers, FL, USA; Minnesota Twins center fielder Danny Santana (39) bats against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the game at CenturyLink Sports Complex. The Pirates shut out the Twins 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 21, 2016; Fort Myers, FL, USA; Minnesota Twins center fielder Danny Santana (39) bats against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the game at CenturyLink Sports Complex. The Pirates shut out the Twins 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Danny Santana is hot at the plate for the Minnesota Twins. We saw him breakout in 2014, so should fantasy owners now snag him off the waiver wire while he is hitting the ball well?

Danny Santana has somewhat been forgotten for the Minnesota Twins after his breakout season in 2014. Santana has played both SS for the team and has now taken the reigns in center after Byron Buxton’s demotion. Now that he is getting most of the starts and currently hitting the ball well, should fantasy owners now pick him up hoping that he can revert back to what we saw from him in 2014?

In 2014, Santana broke onto the scene with the Twins posting a, .319 AVG/7 HR/40 RBI/20 SB/.824 OPS, line. He ignited the Twins lineup batting atop the order and his performance even awarded him Rookie of the Year votes. There were some fantasy warning signs heading into 2015, mostly due to an inflated BABIP and terrible plate approach, but fantasy owners saw a potential SS that could offer 10 HR/25 SB.

Unfortunately, Santana came crashing back to Earth in 2015 and allure he once had fell to the wayside. Heading into 2015, he was well off the fantasy radar thanks to Buxton being named the starting center fielder, thus leaving Santana without any clear road to playing time.

More from Fantasy Baseball

The Twins tried to be as patient as they could with Buxton, but he was brutal at the plate, forcing the team to demote him. This has opened the door for Santana to reappear on the fantasy radar. Since Buxton was demoted, Santana has for the large part, filled in admirably and fantasy owners may now need to take notice.

Over the last two weeks Santana has posted a, .324/1 HR/2 RBI/3 SB/.814 OPS, line. Now it is important to concede that Santana still swings at everything, 10 SO and 1 BB, but it is nice to see him performing similarly to what he showed in 2014. He is currently 4 out 7 in steal attempts on the season, not the greatest ratio, but a sign that the Twins has given him the green light on the base paths.

Next: Texas Rangers Joey Gallo: Sidelined 3-4 Weeks

His fantasy appeal comes from his speed, and the counting stat potential he has atop the Twins lineup. With Joe Mauer looking more like his old self, and Miguel Sano starting to heat up, batting atop Minnesota’s lineup could provide a nice fantasy boost. His 2014 season may be his ceiling, but 20 SB threats are hard to come by anymore in fantasy, making him a nice deep league gamble off the waiver wire.

Home/Fantasy Baseball