Name: Cristopher Sánchez
Position: LHP
Born: December 12, 1996
Country: Dominican Republic
Bats/Throws: L/L
Height/Weight: 6’5″ 165lbs
How Acquired: Signed as an International Free Agent by the Rays. Traded to the Phillies for Curtis Mead.
Signed: July 15, 2013
Bonus: $65,000
Options Remaining: 0
Rule 5 Eligible: 2017
MiLB Free Agency: 2020
Stats
Prospect Rankings
Role: Multi-inning Reliever
Risk: Medium – Sanchez has reached the major leagues, and outside a terrible spot start/opener appearance was actually fairly decent. He is much riskier as a starting pitcher, but he makes more sense out of the bullpen.
Summary: When the Phillies acquired Sanchez for Curtis Mead, he was still very raw as a pitcher. A casualty of a Tampa system with too many players to protect, his meteoric rise through their system in 2019 hid just how little upper minors experience he had. The lost 2020 season meant that the bulk of his 2021 was going to come down to just getting high level innings. At times he looked competent as a starter, but often was undone by poor command or too many trips through the order. He sits 92-95 with his fastball and has gotten up to 98 in the past. He has a solid changeup that has become a bit of a weapon, and will unleash some sliders that will make you think it could be a weapon. In a bullpen role he could ideally stick in the higher range of his velocity, and possibly be less prone to some of the control problems over the course of games. He is very unlikely to reach the high leverage heights that Ranger Suarez did in 2021, let alone the re-transition to the rotation, but he could get the Phillies 2-3 innings and bridge a game from the starters to later innings.
2022 Outlook: Sanchez is probably a long shot to make the team out of Spring Training, but it looks like he might be moving to a relief role, where he could see time in the majors very quickly as the Phillies sort through who is good and who isn’t in the bullpen.
Cristopher Sanchez does not have a lot of upper minors experience for a player on the fringes of a 40 man roster, but he is a big lefty who has touched up to 98 and has multiple usable secondary pitches. He is in many ways similar to Damon Jones in that the control and inconsistencies mean that he is probably a bullpen arm long term.
Role: #3 Starter/High Leverage Reliever
Risk: Extreme – In many ways we really don’t know who Sanchez is as a pitcher. Last year was both his first year in full season ball and his first year showing major league caliber pitches. He has neither had a starters workload or been used as a high leverage reliever. The Phillies are likely to start him in a rotation.
Summary: The byproduct of a strong farm system is that guys with high risk and long lead times can find themselves on the outside come Rule 5 time. In this case, the Rays strength is the Phillies gain, as they shipped an interesting prospect in Curtis Mead out to the Rays for Sanchez on the protection deadline eve. Sanchez was a surprise out of nowhere prospect, having never pitched in full season ball before 2019, despite it being his age 22 season. His quick rise (all the way to AAA) was thanks to a large velocity jump that saw him sitting 94 to 98 by the end of the year and reportedly touching 100. His slider shows promise, but needs work. However, his changeup is flashing plus potential. Sanchez’s control is indicative of a pitcher with limited high minors development. When the Phillies traded for Sanchez, there was a lot of thought they would just move him to the bullpen given his age, but their current plans appear to be to have him work as a starting pitcher. Given how raw he is and his arm strength, his upside in a rotation is very tantalizing. If the starting experiment doesn’t work, the downside is merely that he gets some developmental innings, so the Phillies have little to lose in giving it a try.
2020 Outlook: Despite some early speculation that the Phillies might give him a chance to win a bullpen spot in Spring Training, the Phillies are sending Sanchez to Reading as a starting pitcher. Unless he can’t hold up in the role, the Phillies have every incentive to leave him in a rotation just to get high level innings, and then reassess his future next Spring.
Role: Multi-inning Reliever
Risk: Medium – Sanchez has reached the major leagues, and outside a terrible spot start/opener appearance was actually fairly decent. He is much riskier as a starting pitcher, but he makes more sense out of the bullpen.
Summary: When the Phillies acquired Sanchez for Curtis Mead, he was still very raw as a pitcher. A casualty of a Tampa system with too many players to protect, his meteoric rise through their system in 2019 hid just how little upper minors experience he had. The lost 2020 season meant that the bulk of his 2021 was going to come down to just getting high level innings. At times he looked competent as a starter, but often was undone by poor command or too many trips through the order. He sits 92-95 with his fastball and has gotten up to 98 in the past. He has a solid changeup that has become a bit of a weapon, and will unleash some sliders that will make you think it could be a weapon. In a bullpen role he could ideally stick in the higher range of his velocity, and possibly be less prone to some of the control problems over the course of games. He is very unlikely to reach the high leverage heights that Ranger Suarez did in 2021, let alone the re-transition to the rotation, but he could get the Phillies 2-3 innings and bridge a game from the starters to later innings.
2022 Outlook: Sanchez is probably a long shot to make the team out of Spring Training, but it looks like he might be moving to a relief role, where he could see time in the majors very quickly as the Phillies sort through who is good and who isn’t in the bullpen.
Cristopher Sanchez does not have a lot of upper minors experience for a player on the fringes of a 40 man roster, but he is a big lefty who has touched up to 98 and has multiple usable secondary pitches. He is in many ways similar to Damon Jones in that the control and inconsistencies mean that he is probably a bullpen arm long term.
Role: #3 Starter/High Leverage Reliever
Risk: Extreme – In many ways we really don’t know who Sanchez is as a pitcher. Last year was both his first year in full season ball and his first year showing major league caliber pitches. He has neither had a starters workload or been used as a high leverage reliever. The Phillies are likely to start him in a rotation.
Summary: The byproduct of a strong farm system is that guys with high risk and long lead times can find themselves on the outside come Rule 5 time. In this case, the Rays strength is the Phillies gain, as they shipped an interesting prospect in Curtis Mead out to the Rays for Sanchez on the protection deadline eve. Sanchez was a surprise out of nowhere prospect, having never pitched in full season ball before 2019, despite it being his age 22 season. His quick rise (all the way to AAA) was thanks to a large velocity jump that saw him sitting 94 to 98 by the end of the year and reportedly touching 100. His slider shows promise, but needs work. However, his changeup is flashing plus potential. Sanchez’s control is indicative of a pitcher with limited high minors development. When the Phillies traded for Sanchez, there was a lot of thought they would just move him to the bullpen given his age, but their current plans appear to be to have him work as a starting pitcher. Given how raw he is and his arm strength, his upside in a rotation is very tantalizing. If the starting experiment doesn’t work, the downside is merely that he gets some developmental innings, so the Phillies have little to lose in giving it a try.
2020 Outlook: Despite some early speculation that the Phillies might give him a chance to win a bullpen spot in Spring Training, the Phillies are sending Sanchez to Reading as a starting pitcher. Unless he can’t hold up in the role, the Phillies have every incentive to leave him in a rotation just to get high level innings, and then reassess his future next Spring.