Cristopher Sanchez Could Be The Phillies Secret Weapon In 2024
No one was expecting much when Cristopher Sanchez was called up last season. We have seen him pitch before, and we assumed he was just here to fill the 5th starter role until the Phillies could do something at the deadline. But then he pitched well. Really well. Through June and July, he had a Sub 3.0 ERA. He struggled a bit in August, but then bounced back in September, and even gave them one solid, albiet short, start is the playoffs. Which begs the question, is he actually good?
What Led To His Breakout Season?
What led to him going from a spot starter to someone who finished with a 3.44 ERA across 18 starts? Well for one, his control improved greatly. He went from walking nearly 10% of the batters he faced to just 4%. Only two % of MLB Pitchers had a better BB%.
He started missing more bats too. His K rate went up nearly 5 %. That was helped by him having a chase rate of 34.8%. He gets people to chase his pitches outside of the zone at an elite level. Which tends to happen when you spend so much time in the strike zone, it becomes easier to fool people when you do throw a ball. He also produced more ground balls. All of that led to him having a great season. And those improved numbers show that it was more than just luck.
One of the keys is he threw his sinker a bit less. In past seasons he was far too reliant on it. He threw it over 60% of the time. MLB Hitters are good enough that if they see a pitch that often, they will usually hit it. There are some exceptions. Mariano Rivera almost exclusively threw his cutter. But unless the pitch you rely that heavily on is one of the best pitches in MLB history, you are going to run into trouble. But last year he pulled it back to 46%. Using his changeup and slider a bit more. And it paid off. Players hit just .148 off his changeup.
Using the sinker less, and throwing more strikes, are quantifiable things we can point to and see why he improved. It was not just him getting lucky on where balls in play went. He improved a part of his game, and it led to better results. The Phillies worked with him on those things, and it worked. That tells you that it wasn’t just a fluke, it was real progress. If you have good pitches, which Sanchez does, and you can throw them for strikes, you are going to be successful.
What Can We Expect From Him In 2024?
Will he be an Ace? Maybe not. The velocity on his pitches is below average. That perhaps limits his ceiling a bit. But the Phillies aren’t asking him to outduel Spencer Strider or Zac Gallen. He is their 4th or 5th starter. And if you compare him to all the other 4th or 5th starters around the league, he comes away looking really good. The Phillies already have Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, and Ranger Suarez. We can’t trust Taijuan Walker completely, but he is more than good enough to be your 4th or 5th guy. Now add Cristopher Sanchez on top of that? It is a hell of a starting rotation, even without making another move.
Sanchez’s 2022 season was the real deal. And he could end up being a secret weapon for them at the back of their rotation if he carries over all the improvements he made in 2023.
(All Stats in Article Per Baseball Savant)
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Every Number The Phillies Have Retired, and 3 They Should
#15- Dick Allen
The most recent name to go up there among the retired numbers at Citizens Bank Park. As of now, Allen is the only Phillies player to have his number retired to not be in the Hall of Fame. But that is the MLB’s mistake for not inducting him yet. Allen is definitely deserving of being there. Allen has 351 HRs, 1,119 RBIs, an MVP Award, and 7 All-Star Appearances. The fact that the MLB has continued to snub Allen from the Hall of Fame played a big decision in John Middleton retiring his number 15 in 2020.
(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
#32- Steve Carlton
Carlton has a strong case to be the best Left-handed Pitcher ever. 4 Cy Youngs. He was the first pitcher to ever accomplish that. He is also one of the rare cases of a trade actually going well for the Phillies. He and Schmidt helped break the Phillies curse and win the first World Series in the history of the franchise. And now no one will ever wear his number 32 again for the Phillies.
(Photo by Chris Gardner-Pool/Getty Images)
