By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Included in the Philadelphia Phillies' major league rotation are right-handers Aaron Nola, Jake Arrieta and Nick Pivetta. Not too far behind in the mix is one of the club's minor-league right-handers, Enyel De Los Santos, who lowered his International League-leading ERA from 1.63 to 1.47 in Tuesday evening's victory for Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
De Los Santos, 22, signed with the Seattle Mariners in July 2014 at age 18 out of the Dominican Republic, and was traded to the San Diego Padres 16 months later as part of the deal that sent eventual-2017 Phillies right-hander Joaquin Benoit to the American League West.
In 26 games and 24 starts last season with Double-A San Antonio, De Los Santos went 10-6 with a 3.78 ERA and 138 strikeouts in 150 innings. The Phillies acquired the right-hander on Dec. 15, 2017, in exchange for then-six-year veteran shortstop Freddy Galvis.
While the Phillies lost a durable shortstop with some power in Galvis — who appeared in all 162 games with 47 extra-base hits and 61 RBI in 2017 — De Los Santos has not disappointed through 12 starts so far this season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Ranked as the No. 12 Phillies prospect by MLBPipeline.com, De Los Santos has gone 7-3 with a 1.47 ERA, 76 strikeouts and 1.009 WHIP in 73 1/3 innings. De Los Santos has allowed one run or fewer in nine of hits starts. Each of his last eight outings have been quality starts.
In addition to leading the International League in ERA (1.47), De Los Santos ranks second in wins (7) and innings (73 1/3) behind teammate Cole Irvin (8, 75 2/3), and has the third-most strikeouts (76).
MLBPipeline.com describes De Los Santos' pitching repertoire:
The right-hander is capable of using his plus fastball that sits around 94-95 mph and can touch as high as 97-98 mph to both miss bats and get weak contact on the ground, and improved command of the pitch has made it an even better weapon. His changeup is his best secondary pitch, one that flashes plus with good fade to it, but he doesn't throw his curve as effectively.
While he is not yet on the 40-man roster, De Los Santos is surely on his way to earning a promotion to the majors in the not too distant future.
