T.J. Santiago begins his first professional season with teh ThunderBolts in 2017. He signed on June 23, 2017. T.J. spent four years at Adelphi University and went 17-11 in his collegiate career with a 2.87 ERA in 51 games (39 starts). As a senior in 2017, he went 8-3 with a 1.51 ERA and struck out 81 to only seven walks in 77.2 innings. In his last two seasons, he struck out 159 and walked just 17. He was named First Team All-Northeast 10 as a junior and was the conference pitcher of the year as a senior. Santiago attended Linden High School in Linden, New Jersey.