Santillan's pro career off to a solid start

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Antonio Santillan, an 18-year old from Seguin High School in Arlington, Texas, is not only learning about life as a professional baseball player, but also about life as an independent adult.

"Different than high school," Santillan said. "You've got to learn things on your own, there's not people there telling you what to do, you have to figure it out. You have your own responsibilities."

The adjustment can be a tough one for some, but Santillan has handled it well, with some help from his teammates.

"I made friends with the older guys, the veterans," Santillan said. "They've told me the ins and outs of it and it's a learning process."

That learning process began once Santillan arrived in Arizona, shortly after the Cincinnati Reds selected him in the second round of the 2015 Draft.

"It was something I'll remember forever -- all my family there, getting my name called, it was a nice moment," Santillan said. "I honestly had no idea where I was going. I was just enjoying my time with my family. I got lucky, thank the Lord, I got picked. Glad it happened."

As for life on the mound, so far so good. The right-hander has notched to scoreless 3 1/3 scoreless innings over his first two outings.

Santillan made his professional debut, as a member of the Arizona League Reds, on July 13 and held the Dodgers scoreless over 1 1/3 innings.

"It was fun, it was exciting," Santillan said. "I thought it went well. I did my job. I did what I had to do. At the end of the day I did my job."

While Santillan kept the Dodgers off the board, his debut wasn't perfect.

There were concerns about Santillan's command prior to the Draft and those issues surfaced a bit as he walked one batter and hit another.

"Once you get to higher levels it's always about location," Santillan said. "That's a big thing that can get better at no matter how good you are."