Phillies prospect Sixto Sanchez continues to dazzle in full-season ball

The Phillies best pitching prospect is still just 18 years old for some time and yet he has dazzled everyone that has watched him pitch.

Watching the Phillies pitching staff this season has been a struggle with several pitchers struggling at times during this season and several more being injured before they could get their feet under them. We’re once again looking for help from the minor-leagues, and the best chance for an impact starter is pitching in Low-A Lakewood right now.

Sixto Sanchez opened up eyes last year in the Gulf Coast League when he allowed just three earned runs and eight walks in 54 innings. He induced a large amount of ground balls (58 percent) and struck out an impressive amount of batters as well (22.7 percent). With several other pitching prospects stalling or graduating to the major-leagues, Sanchez became one of the team’s best pitching prospects.

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This year, Sanchez is impressing even more. In 11 starts, Sanchez has a 2.88 ERA, 2.34 fielding-independent pitching, and 0.84 WHIP. He has walked just six batters and struck out 54 in 56.1 innings.

Sanchez has not just impressed people within the organization but also on the outside. Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer was in Lakewood Wednesday night and watched Sanchez’s start.

He was seated with several scouts, and all of them were impressed with what they saw in Sanchez:

"One scout wrote, “no-no,” above his typical notes in the third inning — less a prediction and more a matter of fact. The stuff was that good. Sanchez hit 100 mph with at least one pitch in each of his six innings…Then, the banter began.“Jose Fernandez,” one scout said.“Pedro Martinez,” a second said.“The best arm I’ve seen in the minors this year,” another said.More from That Balls Outta HerePhiladelphia Phillies bullpen could still struggle greatly in 2023 seasonPhiladelphia Phillies: Most impactful transactions in 2022How will Rob Thomson manage the Philadelphia Phillies bullpen in 2023?How Phillies’ Ranger Suárez is set to build on 2022 postseason dominanceWhat can Philadelphia Phillies expect from Bryson Stott in 2023?“Jesus,” a fourth scout said, not as a comparison, but to express disbelief."

Baseball America also values Sanchez highly, ranking him as the No. 47 overall prospect in the league in their most recent rankings. They ranked Sanchez as the team’s second-best prospect behind Mickey Moniak.

With a triple-digit fastball and two major-league caliber secondary pitches, Sanchez has the potential to be a quality pitcher for Philadelphia, or perhaps for another team instead.

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A recent report has linked the Phils to Marlins outfielders Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich, and a trade for either would likely require the team parting ways with Sanchez. It would be a shame to lose him but would also show how valuable of a prospect he is.