LHP Hector Santiago has been a personal favorite for awhile. He always had a nice strikeout rate and, in the last couple years, had shown some nice improvement in limiting walks. But, most importantly, he was left-handed. One might have thought such things would have put him on a fast track. But the White Sox didn’t agree, leaving him in Winston-Salem for two seasons as a reliever and sending him back there to open 2011. This season, though, he was shifted to starter. I found this to be a curious move and couldn’t tell whether this was another confirmation that he was viewed simply as an organizational arm. He again put up very nice numbers for the Dash, essentially replicating his stats as a reliever, which is always a good sign: 44 IP, 38 H, 14 BB, 43 K. He earned a promotion to the Barons and has continued to throw well in his two starts there. One of the reasons for his shift to starter, as well as continued success, has apparently been the addition of a screwball. Rarely thrown these days (I’m not aware of any current major leaguer throwing one now that Daniel Ray Herrera is back in the minors), it breaks from right to left when thrown by a lefty such as Santiago. With the White Sox adequately stocked with bullpen lefties for the first time in a long time, Santiago and Barons rotation mate Charlie Leesman both should be given the time to develop as starters. But both are likely eventually destined for the bullpen.

http://www.southsidesox.com/2011/6/3/2204799/this-week-in-white-sox-minor-league-baseball

scratches head…..Sale, Thornton, Ohman, and now Santiago. Four lefties….well…Sale and maybe Santiago are possible future starters. I guess they could be OK working together in relief