Wild Things hire new pitching coach
The Wild Things have started to put together their coaching staff for the 2027 National Association season.
Washington announced Tuesday that it has hired Reid Santos, a three-time MLB draft pick and veteran of nine professional seasons as a player, to be the pitching coach next year.
Santos replaces Josh Flowerman, who spent one year as the Wild Things’ pitching coach. Washington led the Frontier League – now called the National Association – in ERA in 2026.
Santos was known by Wild Things manager Tom Vaeth, when the latter was a hitting coach at Winnipeg in the American Association. Santos ended his career playing for two seasons in the league with Kansas City.
“We’re happy and excited to announce Reid as our pitching coach for the 2027 season,” Vaeth said in a release. “I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Reid for some time. He pitched against our Winnipeg teams when he finished his playing career with the Kansas City T-Bones. I’ve seen him compete on the field and admired how he went about his craft. He was always tough to game plan against and try to figure out for my offense, so I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do with our pitchers. The wealth of experience he gained in reaching the Triple-A level and then figuring out the indy ball style of play should be a real asset in the development and success of our pitching staff.
Santos was born in Hawaii and was a standout high school pitcher. He was drafted in 2001 in the 23rd round out of high school by the Montreal Expos but did not sign. Santos then went to Saddleback Junior College in California and was drafted by the Texas Rangers and again did not sign. After his 2002 season, Santos was drafted again, this time by Cleveland in the 13th round, and signed a contract with the organization. He spent six years in the Cleveland system and advanced as high as Class AAA Buffalo. In 2009, he played for Minnesota’s Class AAA affiliate in Rochester before concluding his playing career in independent ball.
This past summer, Santos was the pitching coach for the Wausua Woodchucks of the Northwoods League, which is a summer collegiate league. The Woodchucks finished third in the league in ERA.