Weather in Springfield, Mo., can be awfully hot in the middle of the summer, but the Cardinals brought in two players who can supply plenty of breeze for their Double-A affiliate at the Trade Deadline.
When St. Louis dealt longtime outfielder Lars Nootbaar to the D-backs on Monday, they acquired two of the best strikeout artists in the Texas League, and they have quickly brought their whiffs to the Springfield Cardinals.
Right-hander Daniel Eagen (STL No. 17) and lefty Sandro Santana (STL No. 22) combined to rack up eight K's across seven innings on Saturday. And although Springfield fell 3-2 to San Antonio at Nelson Wolff Stadium, it was a sign of what St. Louis saw in the duo that could help them reach the big leagues as soon as next year.
COMPLETE CARDINALS PROSPECT COVERAGE
Eagen, the headliner of the trade, had elbow and shoulder injuries derailed his first two years of college. The 6-foot-4 hurler returned as a junior and has had a big up arrow next to his name since, setting a Presbyterian school record of 122 strikeouts in 77 2/3 innings, good enough to win 2024 Big South Pitcher of the Year honors.
Since the D-backs signed him to an under-slot $650,000 bonus as a 2024 third-rounder, he's continued to perform well. Eagen won Northwest League Pitcher of the Year honors last season when he led D-backs Minor Leaguers with 153 K's in 117 1/3 innings. He again was leading Arizona farmhands in strikeouts (109) and strikeout rate (29.2 percent) before the trade.
The North Carolina native doesn't have overwhelming velocity, although he's up to 95 mph on his heater. Where he's stood out is in creating spin. Eagen generates up to 20 inches of induced vertical break on his fastball out of a high release and complements it with a downer low-80s curve that's historically been his best pitch against both righties and lefties. He's also upped his usage of a mid-80s slider this season, which he's landed for more strikes and picked up more chase and whiffs on.
The 22-year-old put that pitch mix on display Saturday in his org debut. He fell behind early by giving up a three-run homer in the first inning, but from that point on, he allowed just one single and a walk the rest of the way. This marked his fourth six-inning start of the season, three of which have come in the past month.
More from MLB Pipeline:
• Top 100 prospects | Stats | Video | Podcast | Complete coverage
Santana, meanwhile, has a far different profile -- almost the exact opposite. He's a hard-throwing 5-foot-10 lefty reliever who throws from a low release. And whereas Eagen was a high Draft pick, Santana signed for just $15,000 in 2023 at nearly 18, older than most top international signees.
The Dominican Republic native broke out last year in his first taste of full-season ball, striking out 61 in 59 1/3 innings, albeit with 31 walks. He's been even better across the board this season, with a strikeout rate more than 50 percent higher (38.3 percent) and a lower walk rate (10.2 percent). Prior to the trade, he led D-backs pitchers (min. 45 IP) in K rate.
The 21-year-old is up to 98 mph on his fastball, which succeeds more because of its velocity and his deception than the pitch's movement. His real meal ticket has been a mid-80s sweeping slider that may be the single best secondary pitch in the Cardinals system. The breaking ball has generated a 57 percent whiff rate and a 38 percent chase rate this season, per Synergy.
The slider was devastating again in his second outing with Springfield. After striking out three in 1 1/3 perfect innings on Wednesday, he punched out two more over an inning while surrendering just a single on Saturday. Twelve of his 17 offerings were sliders, and Missions players whiffed on all six of their swings against the pitch.
Eagen and Santana bring drastically different profiles, but the hope is that they are on the same track: Ready to move quickly from Double-A to supply more whiffs in the upper Minors and, perhaps before long, St. Louis.