Santana’s masterful effort last night against Oakland probably opened a few eyes in shallow mixed leagues. But don’t get too excited. Kelvim’s due back on Saturday, meaning Ervin’s due back in Rancho Cucamonga for Sunday services. But assuming he does stick around, let’s take a look at what he’s got to offer.

Santana reminds me a lot of Ramon Ortiz. In fact, I had déjà vu watching his start last night and thinking back to Ramon’s ’02 season. He throws 93-97 with a nice slider and a good, easy motion. I thought the slider was a changeup because of its fade, but either way it’s a strikeout pitch. It’s very, very similar to Ortiz’s slider/change/fastball combo that racked up 162 Ks in 2002.

You might want to think of him as Vicente Padilla without the benefit of pitching in the NL.

Ervin’s listed at 6’2”, but that’s probably an exaggeration. He’s thrown just over 200 IP in 3 minor league seasons and has a long history of arm problems (most recently elbow tendonitis that shut him down after 24 IP in ’04) that should concern owners.

The Angels want him throwing 150 innings this year. After that they’re shutting him down for precautionary reasons. He’s only 20 and they don’t want that elbow going Vicente Padilla on him. His long-term potential is probably 3.50/217 IP/188 Hits/ 68/190 K/BB. If that seems a little precise it’s because it’s Ramon Ortiz’s ’02 season tweaked a little.

He’ll get there eventually but right now there’s absolutely no room in Anaheim’s rotation.

He threw 115 pitches last night to a Sox team coming off a tough series with the Cubs. His command of the zone was also incredible considering his BB/9 hovered around 4 in the low minors. You really can’t judge a pitcher based on his performance the first time around the league, but Santana clearly has the stuff to be a 15-game winner probably as soon as 2007.

If you want to know what happens when teams face a pitcher for the first time just take a look at Gus Chacin in Toronto. If you want to know what happens the second time, Scott Kazmir, Dontrelle Willis, or Rich Harden and their sophomore struggles.

Still, Santana is going to rack some Ks and probably a half-decent (4.15) ERA. His WHIP figures to be sub-par when you counter in 3-4 BBs/start, but he should win about 10 games in 05 and keep those peripherals in check. 7/4.15/1.30/65 Ks.