Anthony Santander might be the most underrated hitter in the American League, at least from a national perspective. Overshadowed by the young talent on his own team, the 29-year-old Baltimore Orioles outfielder has 102 home runs and a 123 wRC+ over the past three seasons. This year’s numbers are especially impressive. A reliable cog in manager Brandon Hyde’s lineup — he’s played in 145 of the team’s 151 games — the switch-hitter from Margarita, Venezuela, has hit 41 homers while putting up a 129 wRC+ and a club-best 95 RBI this season.
The degree to which he remains under the radar is relative. Santander enjoyed his first All-Star selection this summer, and he is currently getting increased attention due to his forthcoming free agency. Accolades have nonetheless been in shorter-than-deserved supply, and that includes our own coverage here at FanGraphs. As evidenced by his player page, Santander’s name isn’t in the title of any piece we’ve published prior to the one you’re reading. As good as he’s been, that is something that needed to be corrected.
Santander sat down to talk hitting one day after smacking his 40th home run of the season last week at Fenway Park.
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David Laurila: How did you first learn to hit, and what has been your development path from there?
Anthony Santander: “My dad introduced me to baseball when I was 4 years old, and when I was young I was a pure right-handed hitter. I didn’t start switch-hitting until I started working to become a pro when I was 15 or 16. That took a little bit, because it was new for me.”
Laurila: Why did you start switch-hitting?
Santander: “I was facing a lot of righties. It was righty-righty so, ‘OK, let’s grab a bat from the left side.’ That’s a different angle, so it took a bit, but with a lot of reps in the cage, batting practice, and competing in games, I started learning how to hit from the left side.
“I took a step forward in High-A. That’s when I started to become a student of the game, learning things like what the pitcher is trying to do. I would say that’s really when I learned how to hit, when I was in High-A ball.”
Laurila: All these years later, picking up a baseball bat and swinging it must feel as natural to you as picking up a fork and eating. You’ve done it so many times…
Santander: “It’s not that simple. It looks simple, but it’s not. It takes a lot of preparation. Thank God we’ve got the analytic stuff here. The coaches help you a lot. There is a lot of cage work, a lot of mental work.”
Laurila: I was planning to ask you about analytics. Do you pay much attention to your exit velocities and launch angles?
Santander: “No. I don’t pay attention to that at all. I just pay attention to the analytical stuff about the pitchers, like what they are trying to do against you. I know [my] mechanics as a hitter, and I need to go to the cage and work on them, but exit velocity… not that. I get ready with my routine and then go out there and compete. I don’t pay attention to those numbers.”
Laurila: Have your mechanics changed much over the years?
Santander: “There have been different swings. It’s always different. You can see in the last three years the difference from the left side. It’s not my natural side, so I go more for how the swing is feeling that day. The mechanics for me are tough, because I was 16 years old, 15 years old when I started hitting from the left side. Mechanically, everything is different [based] on how I feel.”
Laurila: What changes? Is it where you start your hands? Is it more your setup?
Santander: “Yes. It’s like, if my hands are higher or lower… I need to get to the hitting position. You can start whatever you want, but when you stride to a hitting position, you need to be in the right spot. Sometimes when your hands are too high you don’t get to the spot quickly. That’s something I’m consistently figuring out. Same with the leg kick. Sometimes you’re feeling good with the leg kick high, and sometimes you need to shut it down because the pitcher is throwing 200 mph.”
Laurila: Is that only from the left side, or is it the right side as well?
Santander: “Right-handed is always the same. I can have three, four, five days without seeing a pitcher from that side and be ready to go. For me, hitting from the right side is more simple. It’s my dominant arm, so I can go straight and quicker to the ball; from the left side I’m pulling [the left arm] quicker, so it’s getting me out of rhythm. This is not my dominant arm. [The right arm] wants to control always. That’s why from the right side I can make adjustments easier. It’s my throwing arm, so I can dominate the back much better. We really hit from the back; we don’t hit going forward with the hands. It’s more stay back, then see the ball.”
Laurila: What about how your body moves — how it rotates — through your swing? Does that differ?
Santander: “Yes. That is different as well. I’ve got more rotation from the left side. From the right side, I’m a little more more stuck.”
Laurila: Are you a better hitter from the right side or from the left?
Santander: “That’s a tough question. I always say I’m equal. The numbers say it’s pretty equal, but again, it’s how you feel sometimes. I always say that as a switch-hitter we have two brains, because it’s two angles that we have to face. And sometimes you’re struggling from one side because your body doesn’t rotate the same. Like I said, from the right side, rotation is tough. Like I get stuck a little bit right here with my range of motion, [whereas] with the left side it’s more open.
“From the right side, I can see the ball better to [hit it to] the opposite field, and I can hit homers to [that] side. From the left side, because I’ve got more space, I’m more from center to the right field pull side. It’s rare when I hit the ball to the other side from the left side.”
Laurila: Opposing pitchers obviously know those things. With that in mind, do you mostly try to stick to your strengths, or do you adjust accordingly with how you’re being attacked?
Santander: “It depends on the pitcher and the movement. If it’s a guy like [Brayan] Bello yesterday, he’s got a big sinker and knows that I’m a pull hitter, so I will try to stay more closed to the big part of the field and try not to open up too quick. If I open too quick, I’m going to ground out to second base. So, I tried to see if I could hit a hit a double to the other side. I forgot about [trying to hit a] homer.
“Say it’s is a regular pitcher and the ball doesn’t move too much away from me. Then maybe I’ll stay with more aggressiveness to hit the ball to the big part [of the field]. With my rotation, I can take the ball out of the yard, like yesterday [against right-handed reliever Josh Winckowski]. It was a cutter, middle, and I recognized it on time and just rotated to it. Then, from the right side, it’s easy for me to hit the ball to the opposite field because it’s my dominant hand. I’ve got much more control with the bat.”
Laurila: The home run you hit yesterday was your 40th on the season. Are you a power hitter?
Santander: “Everybody will say yes, but personally, I feel like I’m a game-power hitter. Honestly, I can’t hit the ball really far. You see guys like Yordan Alvarez, Juan Soto, Aaron Judge. They hit the ball far. Gunnar Henderson. Adley Rutschman. Those guys have pop. They can hit it farther than me. Colton Cowser. I joke around with him. ‘Bro, you’re a skinny dude. You crush the ball. Wow. How do you do it?’ I don’t have that kind of pop. But I can hit in the game.”
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Earlier “Talks Hitting” interviews can found through these links: Jo Adell, Jeff Albert, Greg Allen, Nolan Arenado, Aaron Bates, Jacob Berry, Alex Bregman, Bo Bichette, Justice Bigbie, Cavan Biggio, Charlie Blackmon, JJ Bleday, Bobby Bradley, Will Brennan, Jay Bruce, Triston Casas, Matt Chapman, Michael Chavis, Garrett Cooper, Gavin Cross, Jacob Cruz, Nelson Cruz, Paul DeJong, Josh Donaldson, Brendan Donovan, Donnie Ecker, Rick Eckstein, Drew Ferguson, Justin Foscue, Michael Fransoso, Ryan Fuller, Joey Gallo, Paul Goldschmidt, Devlin Granberg, Matt Hague, Andy Haines, Mitch Haniger, Robert Hassell III, Austin Hays, Nico Hoerner, Jackson Holliday, Spencer Horwitz, Rhys Hoskins, Eric Hosmer, Jacob Hurtubise, Tim Hyers, Connor Joe, Jace Jung, Josh Jung, Jimmy Kerr, Heston Kjerstad, Steven Kwan, Trevor Larnach, Doug Latta, Royce Lewis, Evan Longoria, Joey Loperfido, Michael Lorenzen, Gavin Lux, Dave Magadan, Trey Mancini, Edgar Martinez, Don Mattingly, Marcelo Mayer, Hunter Mense, Owen Miller, Ryan Mountcastle, Cedric Mullins, Daniel Murphy, Lars Nootbaar, Logan O’Hoppe, Vinnie Pasquantino, Graham Pauley, David Peralta, Luke Raley, Julio Rodríguez, Brent Rooker, Drew Saylor, Nolan Schanuel, Marcus Semien, Giancarlo Stanton, Spencer Steer, Trevor Story, Fernando Tatis Jr., Spencer Torkelson, Mark Trumbo, Brice Turang, Justin Turner, Trea Turner, Josh VanMeter, Robert Van Scoyoc, Chris Valaika, Zac Veen, Alex Verdugo, Mark Vientos, Matt Vierling, Luke Voit, Anthony Volpe, Joey Votto, Christian Walker, Jared Walsh, Jordan Westburg, Jesse Winker, Bobby Witt Jr. Mike Yastrzemski, Nick Yorke, Kevin Youkilis
