Black MLB Players #13: Sixto Sanchez
Background + Path To The MLB
Sixto Sanchezmis a twenty two year old starting pitcher from San Cristóbal, a city in the Dominican Republic, who currently plays for the Miami Marlins. Growing up, he played shortstop, but was converted to a pitcher because of his strong throwing arm and lack of offensive production. The Philadelphia Phillies, the team that scouted and signed him, found him in a very unique way. The Phillies organization held a tryout for a catcher named Lednier Ricardo at their baseball academy in Boca Chica, and Sixto threw batting practice to him during the tryout in order to display the catcher’s offensive capabilities. The Phillies’ scout Carlos Salas(who signed him) walked away completely enamored with Sixto Sanchez, as he stole the show with easy double plus velocity as a young pitcher. The story says that his father received a call a couple days after the batting practice from the Phillies organization with an offer for Sixto, and begun laughing hysterically. Sixto Sanchez signed with the Philadelphia Phillies organization as an amateur for $35,000 US dollars at the age of sixteen, and it was official on February 20th, 2015. Sixto Sanchez’s favorite pitcher is the legend Pedro Martinez, the greatest Dominican pitcher of all time. He has a tattoo of the number 45 on his neck, which Pedro Martinez wore throughout his career.
During Sixto’s stint in Rookie Ball from mid 2015 to August of 2016, he flew under the radar as he adjusted to playing pro baseball. From 2017 onwards, he was ranked as one of the 100 best prospects in all of baseball by pretty much every credited source and individual in various realms of professional baseball. Sixto flew through the minor leagues, reaching A+(High-A) at the age of eighteen, where he was almost five years younger than the average player. Sixto Sanchez’s steady climb through the minor leagues while battling health issues, facing competition that was between 3.5–5 years older than him, and most importantly dominating his opponents is a testament to his skill level and potential when healthy. In the 335 and one-third innings that he pitched in the minor leagues, Sixto Sanchez had a 2.58 ERA, with 7.9 strikeouts per nine innings(K/9) to go with a minuscule 1.7 walks per nine innings(BB/9). On February 7th, 2019 Sixto Sanchez was traded as the centerpiece of a blockbuster deal that sent the best catcher in the MLB J.T. Realmuto to the Philadelphia Phillies, and Sixto Sanchez going to the Miami Marlins with two other players and $250,000 in bonus slot money. Sixto Sanchez made his MLB debut on August 22nd, 2020 at the age of twenty two years old, and his rookie status is still intact.
Player Profile
Sixto Sanchez is only 6'0'’, which is a bit undersized for a starting pitcher, although he is a bit stocky at 234 pounds. He throws right handed from a traditional 3/4 arm slot, and features five pitches in his arsenal: a four seam fastball, sinker/two-seam fastball, slider, curveball, and a changeup. Sixto is able to command all of his pitches at an elite level, throwing them wherever he wants, pretty much whenever he wants. His extremely low walk rate per nine innings(1.7 BB/9) illustrates how he limits hitters from receiving free passes. His ability to control his pitches is extremely rare for pitchers in general, but it is even more rare for someone that throws as hard as he does.
Sixto Sanchez regularly sits in the high 90s with his four seam and two seam fastball, and is more than capable at hitting 100+ mph on the radar gun when he wants to. Both of his fastballs have an above average amount of horizontal movement, his sinker drops more than the average sinker, and he does this while sitting 96–100+. Sixto does this with an easy and clean delivery, that shows his one in a million arm talent and elite athleticism/body control.
Sixto Sanchez also has an above average slider and a changeup that was rated as one of the best individual pitches while he was carving up minor league lineups as a teenager. They both have above average horizontal movement, and they compliment the two fastballs that he throws extremely well. Sanchez throws these two pitches at around 89–90 mph on average, which is simply absurd. The various videos below show how difficult it is for the best hitters on the planet to face the rare combination of velocity, movement, and control that Sixto Sanchez posses. I will be embedding videos analyzing Sixto’s grips, mechanics/command, and the hellacious movement he posses on his arsenal.
Conclusion
Sixto Sanchez is one of the most talented starting pitchers I’ve seen so far in my life, and it is a joy to watch him on the mound. His wonderful personality shines just as much as his arm talent. If he can stay healthy and be consistent, there is no doubt in my mind that he is going to be a superstar for years to come. Reaching the major league level at only 22 years old and being above average in his first stint is a huge sign of success, along with the sterling minor league track record he compiled in five seasons. As the Miami Marlins promote their young core of players to the MLB level and prepare to begin another window of contention for playoff berths with hopes of one day reaching the World Series, Sixto Sanchez will probably be at the forefront. To conclude my latest article in this series, Sixto Sanchez is an outlier among outliers.
