Philadelphia Phillies 2017 mid-season top ten prospect list
By John Town
No. 3: RHP Sixto Sanchez
Sixto Sanchez still has yet to turn 19 years old and is already the Phillies’ best pitching prospect. He jumped off the page last season when he debuted stateside in the Gulf Coast League. This year he has continued to succeed in Low-A Lakewood and if anything has even got slightly better.
In 11 starts this year, Sanchez has a 2.88 ERA with an even better 2.32 fielding-independent pitching. So far this year he has struck out nearly a quarter of opposing hitters while walking less than three percent. Opposing hitters are hitting just .196 against Sanchez and he has a 0.83 WHIP.
Sanchez’s arsenal is what makes him so dominant despite his youth. He throws in the high-90s consistently and often hits 100 mph. In his July 12 start he even hit 102 on multiple occasions. Combined with his above-average command, especially for his age, that fastball is deadly. Both of his secondary pitches, his curve and slider, have the potential to be above-average and catch hitters trying to sit on Sanchez’s fastball off-guard.
Sanchez is still well away from the majors with MLB.com projecting him to reach Philadelphia in 2020. He has all the potential to be an impact starter but he needs to continue along his development curve for him to reach that ceiling.