Astros Call Up Domingo Santana

This is when we officially see how much of a failure the Hunter Pence trade really was.

Outfielder Domingo Santana, the player to be named later that may or may not have been intended to have been traded by the Phillies, has been added to the Houston Astros’ active roster. At just 21 years old, Santana is the youngest player on the Astros roster and among the youngest players in baseball. Santana hit .304/.383/.502 in the Pacific Coast League with 13 homers and five steals so far in 2014 and appears to have superstar written all over him.

With Santana reaching the Majors, all four players traded to Houston have reached the Majors in less than three years. While reliever Josh Zeid has been little more than a warm body for Houston, the other three players involved in the deal have been much more than that at an accelerated pace. Jarred Cosart has a 9-6 career record with a 2.96 ERA in 26 career starts while Jonathan Singleton became the first player ever to sign a $10 million or more contract before he reached the Majors earlier this season and has a slugging percentage comparable to Ryan Howard

(.374 v. .410) despite hitting only .198 so far as a 22-year old.

There is the possibility that this is the best these four players will do but that possibility remains highly unlikely. At a time when the Phillies need starting pitching, Cosart is one of the better young pitchers in the American Leauge. At a time when the Phillies’ outfielders are sputtering, hitting .247/.300/.380, Santana was breaking records in the Pacific Coast League and is being infused into a suddenly exciting Astors line-up. And during a time when the Phillies first baseman leads MLB in strikeouts, Singleton is giving folks a reason to believe he may be a multiple-time future All-Star at age 22.

All four are now with the Astros and Pence is long gone.