It might look like he's taking a step back, but Reid Santos isn't.

The 2000 graduate of Castle High will be the only player with ties to Hawai'i who will play in Hawaii Winter Baseball this season, which opens Sept. 29 at Hans L'Orange Park. The left-handed pitcher of the Cleveland Indians organization has been assigned to the West Oahu CaneFires.

After learning of HWB's revival last year, Santos had hoped he would be able to pitch here. But after going 2-0 with a 3.44 earned run average with 65 strikeouts in 70 2/3 innings at High-A Kinston (N.C.) and an impressive 10 1/3-inning stint at Double-A Akron (Ohio) with 20 strikeouts to zero walks, the Indians sent him to the Arizona Fall League. He went 0-1 with a 2.53 ERA in 10 2/3 innings of relief.

Santos proved his worth at Akron again this past season, going 8-3 with a 2.72 ERA, sharing time between starting and relieving. He had 85 strikeouts to 30 walks and notched two saves. He was selected to the Eastern League all-star game and was named the league's Pitcher of the Week June 11. It was the kind of season that would at least get him another stint in the AFL.

"This year, I kind of told them I was going to go home and that if I wanted to play, I wanted to play in the Hawaii Winter ball, just to be back at home and stuff," Santos said in a phone interview. "It took them a while to decide, but they finally gave me the OK."

Santos, who resides in Laguna Beach, Calif., said he will stay at his mother's place in Mililani when he arrives here. The players are scheduled to report Sept. 25, HWB president Hervy Kurisu said.

Santos was signed by the Indians out of Saddleback JC in 2002, when he was drafted in the 13th round. He said the Indians have talked to him about his future, but did not commit yet to protecting him on the 40-man roster by next season.

The AFL and HWB seasons are about concurrent, but serve different purposes. The six-team AFL, which runs Oct. 9 to Nov. 17, is described as "finishing school" for prospects close to making it to the majors. Players in AFL are more polished and usually have more experience than those in HWB, which has more low-level minor leaguers who need more playing time. But to Santos, it's not a step back.

"There's always stuff you can work on," Santos said of his wanting to play here. "Obviously, last year, there's guys now in the big leagues, so I'm not worried about it."

Seven players from last year's HWB made their major league debuts this season. Among them are pitchers Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy, who are contributing to the Yankees' stretch drive in the AL East.

Other notable players assigned here this year include a number whose fathers played in the big leagues: