Antonio C. Santillan (born April 15, 1997) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB).

Amateur career

Santillan attended Seguin High School in

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal c ...

. He committed to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...

. He was selected by the

in the second round of the

2015 Major League Baseball draft The 2015 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks finished the 2014 season ...

Professional career

After signing, Santillan made his professional debut with the

Arizona League Reds The Arizona Complex League Reds are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Arizona. The team is composed ...

and spent all of his first professional season there, pitching to an 0–2 record and 5.03 ERA in innings pitched. He pitched 2016 with both the

Billings Mustangs The Billings Mustangs are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Billings, Montana, and have played their home games at Deh ...

and

Dayton Dragons The Dayton Dragons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Dayton, Ohio, and play their home games at Day Air Ballpark. In 2011, they broke the record for most ...

, compiling a combined 3–3 record, 5.19 ERA, and 1.43 WHIP in 15 games started between both teams, and spent 2017 back with Dayton, posting a 9–8 record and 3.38 ERA in 25 games (24 starts). He started 2018 with the

Daytona Tortugas The Daytona Tortugas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Minor League Baseball#Single-A, Single-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Daytona Beach, Florida, and play their home games at Jackie R ...

and was promoted to the Double–A

Pensacola Blue Wahoos The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League (1964–present), Southern League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are based in Pensacola, Florida, and play their home ga ...

during the season. In 26 combined starts between the two clubs, he was 10–7 with a 3.08 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. He spent 2019 with the

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...

, going 2–8 with a 4.84 ERA over 21 starts, striking out 92 over innings. On November 20, 2019, the Reds added Santillan to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

to protect him from the

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. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. On June 12, 2021, Santillan was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. Santillan made his MLB debut the next day as the starting pitcher against the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

, pitching innings of 1-run ball with 5 strikeouts. He recorded his first career strikeout versus Rockies shortstop Trevor Story. He finished his debut campaign making 26 appearances and posting a 1–3 record and 2.91 ERA with 56 strikeouts in 43.1 innings pitched. In 2022, Santillan pitched in 21 games for the Reds, registering a 5.49 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 19.2 innings of work. He was placed on the 60-day injured list with a lower-back strain on July 4, 2022, and was later ruled out for the remainder of the season. On April 28, 2023, Santillan was placed on the 60-day injured list. He had initially began the year on the injured list with a back injury, but suffered a knee injury while on rehab assignment, thus extending his stay. Santillan was activated from the injured list on July 6. In 3 games for the Reds, he logged a 2.70 ERA with 1 strikeout in innings pitched. On August 29, Santillan was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

by Cincinnati. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple–A Louisville on September 1. He re-signed with Cincinnati on a new minor league contract on November 9. Santillan began the 2024 campaign with Triple–A Louisville. In 38 relief appearances, he compiled a 3.49 ERA with 53 strikeouts and 16 saves across innings pitched. On July 13, 2024, the Reds selected Santillan's contract, adding him to their active roster.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santillan, Tony 1997 births Living people Arizona League Reds players Baseball players from Fort Worth, Texas Billings Mustangs players Chattanooga Lookouts players Cincinnati Reds players Dayton Dragons players Daytona Tortugas players Louisville Bats players Major League Baseball pitchers Pensacola Blue Wahoos players Baseball players from Arlington, Texas