Phillies Acquire Enyel De Los Santos for Freddy Galvis

Ever since J.P. Crawford broke onto the scene Freddy Galvis’ days at shortstop were numbered. After the Phillies traded Jimmy Rollins in the winter of 2014, Galvis held down the Phillies’ shortstop job. His reputation was for a good glove and not much bat. Galvis’ glove was inconsistent in 2015, but in 2016 and 2017 he showed why he was always well regarded. His bat on the other hand continues to be a complete mystery. He continues to be a well below average hitter, but did hit 20 home runs in 2016. Galvis’ power output came at the expense of his onbase percentage, both in batting average and a low walk rate. The Phillies won’t miss his bat, but they might miss his glove.

The man tasked with making sure they don’t will be J.P. Crawford. Crawford has been the Phillies top prospect for enough years that people were complaining about the slow arrival of the 2013 1st round pick. Much like Galvis, Crawford’s biggest strength is a great glove at shortstop. In his major league debut, Crawford primarily played third where he showcased his range and strong arm. Crawford is still prone to some easy errors, but he has reduced them each year. At the plate, Crawford has at least average raw power, but he has only occasionally tapped into it. His swing has changed over the years and has gotten a bit long at times, and his footwork has not really solidified. What Crawford does have is a great eye and feel for the strikezone. He is not afraid to take pitches and work in 2 strike counts. This has allowed for high on base percentages even when his power wasn’t there. Crawford’s on base should make him a more valuable player than Galvis, and if he can work through his other problems, he could be an impact player at shortstop.

None of this accounts for the player the Phillies acquired in the trade, right handed pitcher Enyel De Los Santos. Enyel was acquired by the Padres from the Mariners for Joaquin Benoit, and last year he pitched 150 AA innings at age 21 with a 3.78 ERA. He is a tall lanky pitcher and does have some room to fill out further, but right now his fastball reportedly sits 92 to 98 with good life. His best secondary pitch is a changeup that flashes plus, but is more an inconsistent above average. His curveball will flash average and does not show much potential beyond that. If he can get his changeup to a consistent plus he should be able to settle in as a #4 starter, but it is hard for him to be much better than that without a better breaking ball (if he finds a good breaking ball his ceiling is high). He has good control for his age and level, and he was much better in the second half as well. If he can’t stick in a rotation, his fastball and changeup could make him a very interesting reliever.

His lack of solid breaking ball means that de los Santos will be behind JoJo Romero, Adonis Medina, Franklyn Kilome, Sixto Sanchez, and Seranthony Dominguez in the Top 50. He compares favorably to Drew Anderson, Thomas Eshelman, and Ranger Suarez, and is much closer to contribution than Francisco Morales. That puts him in the 14-17 range on the rough draft of the list (which I promise will come at some point). It is a good return for Freddy Galvis, and De Los Santos should start the year in a talented AAA rotation alongside Anderson and Eshelman as well as fellow Dominican Jose Taveras.