Elbow injuries, inconsistency and poor results prompted Dominican righthander Alimber Santa to wonder if he would ever achieve his childhood dreams.
He signed for $75,000 as a 17-year-old in February 2020 but did not make his pro debut until the following year because of the pandemic. Then elbow issues limited him to just 12 outings and 23 innings between 2021 and 2022.
Healthier in 2023, Santa ran up a 5.98 ERA in 87.1 innings for Low-A Fayetteville. His ERA was 6.47 in 2024, though he reached Double-A Corpus Christi in late June and threw 21.2 innings out of the bullpen.
“As a little kid you have in mind to get to the big leagues, but not everybody gets there,” Santa said.
This year, the 22-year-old was one of the best relievers in the Astros’ system. Through 54 innings for Corpus Christi, Santa had a 1.33 ERA with 57 strikeouts, 21 walks and two home runs allowed.
He is lighting up the radar gun repeatedly while sitting around 94-96 mph and hitting 98 often.
Entering the season, few in the organization would have predicted that Santa would be named to the Futures Game. Yet, that’s exactly what happened.
“I feel very proud,” he said. “It’s a great sensation. It’s something that I never imagined. Thank God I’m here.”
He credits Triple-A Sugar Land righthander Miguel Ullola with helping him through the highs and lows of professional baseball. Ullola, a fellow native of the Dominican Republic, calls Santa after each outing.
Ullola offers Santa advice, but more importantly, Ullola has helped Santa maintain a positive outlook over the difficult years leading up to the breakthrough 2025 season.
Santa’s mound presence and mentality have been crucial this season. He said he has improved his “aggressiveness, mentality, focus.”
“They see it differently this year,” he said, “and that’s what has given me results.”