The Nationals acquired second baseman Chris Bostick and right-handed reliever Abel de Los Santos from the Texas Rangers on Friday in exchange for left-handed pitcher Ross Detwiler.
The 21-year-old Bostick has a .270 career batting average and a .341 on-base percentage in four minor league seasons ranging from rookie ball to high Single-A. In 2014, with Single-A Myrtle Beach of the Carolina League, Bostick hit .251 with a .322 on-base percentage and a .412 slugging percentage. While he played 122 of his 130 games at second base in 2014, Bostick has played 18 minor league games at shortstop in his career.
Bostick was second in the Carolina League with 81 runs scored and tied for fifth with 31 doubles. He was drafted out of high school by the Oakland A's in 2011.
The 22-year-old de los Santos was Bostick's teammate with the Pelicans during the 2014 season. De Los Santos made 33 appearances for Myrtle Beach, where he was 5-2 with a 1.97 ERA. On the season, he had a 1.92 ERA with 65 strikeouts in 56 1/3 innings pitched in 41 games split between low and high Single-A.
The high Single-A Potomac Nationals battled the Myrtle Beach Pelicans for the title in the Carolina League, eventually winning two out of three games in a tense series. The Pelicans had the league's best record in the regular season.
What is interesting is to get the P-Nats' perspective on just how good the newly acquired prospects are. They should know, as they battled them all season long and faced Bostick and de Los Santos in the finals.
"I know both those kids well. Really like them," Potomac manager Tripp Keister said. "Bostick (got) us all summer with big hit after big hit."
Said P-Nats play-by-play announcer Bryan Holland: "Bostick crushed us. (He) hit .321 in 19 games versus Potomac with 10 doubles, a triple and nine RBIs, plus five swipes.
"(Bostick) keeps his hands back and likes to drive the ball the other way. Sometimes chases out of the zone especially soft stuff low and away, but when he makes contact, he barrels it well."
Holland said Bostick's signature moment against the P-Nats was a walk-off double to left-center in Myrtle Beach on May 17.
De Los Santos was also a "thorn in the side" of the P-Nats during their matchups.
"(He) is a hard-thrower with great life. He fanned eight P-Nats in six innings and went 2-0 against Potomac," Holland said.
"He keeps the ball in the yard and doesn't make mistakes in the middle of the plate. Little wild in our sample size against him, but adept at stranding runners."
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