Is Cristopher Sanchez A Dark Horse To Win Cy Young In 2025?

The player with the most buzz around him in Phillies Spring Training is not one of the usual suspects. It is not Bryce Harper or Zack Wheeler. Nor is it one of the top prospects like Aidan Miller, Justin Crawford, or Andrew Painter. It is Cristopher Sanchez.

Sanchez was thought of as a spot starter just two years ago. But then when he came up to make some emergency starts in 2023, he actually looked really good, and he kept looking good. So good, he stuck in the rotation the rest of the way and even got a start in the NLCS.

A good 2023, carried into a great 2024. But now in Spring Training, he is looking poised to make another jump.

Related: Will Cristopher Sanchez Be Even Better For The Phillies In 2025?

Suddenly, his fastball is touching 98, and sitting at 96-97. Up from last year. His strike-out rate is also up. You can't just go off production in Spring Training, but you can go off by how they look on the mound, and he looks poised to take a huge jump.

But just how good could he be? Jayson Stark joined Phillies Hot Stove with Ricky Bo and Connor Thomas, and he told us that Sanchez is the talk of Spring Training all around the league. In fact, he went as far as to call him a Cy Young Candidate, albiet a longshot.

"The player I get asked about on the Phillies the most is Christopher Sanchez. It's amazing to me. I think there are a lot of known quantities on this roster, but the buzz is unbelievable for somebody who, until last year, was almost an afterthought, right?

He's so much stronger now. He didn't just touch 97-98 miles an hour. He sits at 96 to 97. We've never seen that. And we've never seen this swing-and-miss version of him. You know, he went into today with a strikeout rate this spring of 37%. That's almost twice what it was last year. Last year, he was around 20%. And he's doubled that. Starting pitchers, as you know, do not have a 37% strikeout rate. Josh Hader might have a 30% strikeout rate as a closer. Starters don't do that.

But he's now got this fastball that hitters have to gear up for. You combine it with what may be the best changeup in the game. All the ground balls he gets. I think Christopher Sanchez has become a fun Cy Young longshot and a tremendous fantasy baseball pick."

Stark is not some Phillies homer. He is a Hall OF Fame baseball writer who talks to important people all around the league. The hype for Sanche is real, and it is just in Philadelphia.

But is Cy Young realistic? Competition could be stiff, even on his own team. Zack Wheeler, Chris Sale, the Dodgers collection of Aces. But if the guy with the best ground ball rate in the MLB starts striking people out, and he adds a great fastball to go along with the best changeup in the game? Who knows.

It is like Stark said, a long shot. But if you want to get into the action, Cristopher Sanchez is +3000 to take home the hardware. The 11th-best odds in the NL. If you bet $10, you get $310. Maybe it is worth a flier. If he is as good as he looks in Spring, he might have a real chance to be the best pitcher in the NL.

Dave Dombrowski proudly spoke at spring training about a poised rotation of starting pitchers as possibly the greatest strength of the 2025 Philadelphia Phillies.

The staff carried the Phillies to a dominant first half and a National League East pennant last season. Dombrowski rounded out the five-man rotation with an offseason trade for Jesus Luzardo.

The newly-acquired lefty will work his way back from injury along with teammate Ranger Suarez. Workhorses Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola will pitch at the top of the rotation while Cristopher Sanchez has had arguably the best spring among a stacked group of Phillies starting pitchers.

Do the Phillies have the strongest rotation in baseball entering the 2025 MLB season?

It’s hard to look past seven stud starting pitchers on the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, Tony Gonsolin is already struggling with availability while Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, and Dustin May are all coming off major injuries.

The Seattle Mariners intimidate opponents with Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo, and George Kirby lined up at the top. Can they measure up to a Phillies staff with fourth and fifth starters who would pitch at the top of most MLB teams’ rotations?

Don’t count out the Atlanta Braves with Spencer Strider back on the mound or a darkhorse candidate like the Tampa Bay Rays.

The listed order of the projected five-man rotation is ranked based on the subjective level of intrigue entering the 2025 season. It is not a reflection on talent level or performance projections.

All reports from Clearwater have praised Cristopher Sanchez. The 28-year-old lefty bulked up during offseason workouts, and he’s added velocity to his sinking fastball entering the first season of a four-year deal he signed in June 2024.

Sanchez has posted a 3.36 ERA over 49 starts the past two seasons since the Phillies deemed him as a full-time option in the rotation.

He showed his high-end potential in two complete games at Citizens Bank Park last season, and he threw five solid innings in his only playoff start in Game 2 of the National League Division Series.

Jayson Stark described Sanchez’s changeup as – maybe – the best in the majors during an appearance on 97.5 The Fanatic. Opponents hit .177 and slugged a miniscule .220 against Sanchez’s best pitch last season.

It was actually more effective in 2023, when Sanchez posted a sensational 43% whiff rate using the changeup.

Cristopher Sanchez’s spot towards the bottom of the rotation underscores the strength of the unit as the biggest reason for optimism entering 2025.

The Phillies dealt prospects Starlyn Caba and Emaarion Boyd to add the last puzzle piece to their elite rotation.

A lumbar stress reaction kept Jesus Luzardo off the mound after June 16 last season. He spoke confidently after the trade, however, about entering spring training healthy.

The 27-year-old lefty dazzled in two perfect innings during his first Grapefruit League start. Two hitters swung right through strike three at his changeup, which has effectively kept hitters off balance in Luzardo’s best seasons.

His second start didn’t go so smoothly. He allowed three home runs on three consecutive pitches while Rob Thomson wore a headset for an in-game interview on ESPN.

Luzardo ranks near the top of the majors the past three seasons in strikeout rate and whiff rate. He ranked eighth among qualified starters with 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings in 2023.

Luzardo’s fastball velocity turned some heads at BayCare Ballpark this spring. He averaged 96.4 miles per hour with his four-seamer in 2023. The velocity dipped to 95.3 in 2024, and the rejuvenated strength is an encouraging indicator for a healthy start to 2025.