2015 TCB Astros March Madness: Domingo Santana vs. Joe Musgrove

Just a reminder; voting will stay open for 24 hours for each of these match-ups, and there will be two match-ups per day. For a complete breakdown, check out the introductory post if you haven't already. Get those votes in while you can!

Round One, Match Twenty Three

Domingo Santana, OF

Santana turned 22 years old in August - a little over a month after his MLB debut. The 6’5" Dominican outfielder is easily one of the toolsiest players in the system, but some have questioned whether those tools have sufficiently translated to baseball skills. In Triple-A Oklahoma City in 2014, Santana continued to do what he’s done his entire minor league career: Take walks, hit for power, and strike out at a prodigious rate. It must be remembered that he’s still very young, but he’ll need to learn to handle breaking pitches better and improve his overall contact rates if he’s going to be counted on to be a productive major league player. -- Anthony Boyer

VS.

Joe Musgrove, RHP

"I love me some Joe Musgrove!" was a frequent cry amongst a small group of TCB writers during our email discussions late last season. It seemed like every time he took the mound, he made a statement that he was back and ready to live up to his former prospect hype. He posted a stunning 6.7 K/BB ratio and his ERA of 2.81 nearly matched his FIP of 2.84. Limiting walks continued to be a strong suit, and on his injury-hampered career, he’s walked just 1.4 batters per nine innings. Throw in a 53.6% ground ball rate thanks to his heavy fastball, and there’s real cause for optimism that, if healthy, 2015 could be a big breakout year. -- Brian Stevenson