The Philadelphia Phillies have been a team loaded with elite talent, helping to pave the way to their success in recent years. That claim has sure been rightfully justified when ESPN recently came out with their ranking of the top 100 MLB players in 2025. The Phillies are well-represented, with a total of seven players making the distinguished list.
Without debate, Japanese sensation Shohei Ohtani finds himself comfortably at the top of the list, as he should. The highest-ranking Phillie managed to crack the top 10, with team ace Zack Wheeler at No. 9. Phillies superstar first baseman Bryce Harper followed close behind at No. 11, while star shortstop Trea Turner came in at No. 29. Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sánchez, Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto round out the remaining Phillies at No. 45, No. 79, No. 81 and No. 89 respectively.
Should Cristopher Sánchez's debut in ESPN’s Top 100 MLB player rankings be higher?
Sánchez's No. 79 ranking comes as more of a surprise compared to the rest of his teammates. He deserves to be ranked a lot higher.
After all, the budding ace has been spectacular for the Phillies over the past couple of seasons. He had a breakout season in 2024, especially down the stretch when the bulk of the pitching staff was struggling somewhat. Sánchez remained one of the most reliable arms, compiling a stellar 2.50 ERA and 1.03 WHIP, with 49 strikeouts in 50 1/3 innings pitched in his final eight games. The Phillies went 7-1 in those starts.
Sánchez finished his 2024 campaign in the top 20 in the entire league in ERA (3.32), quality starts (17), walks per nine innings (2.18) and innings pitched (181 2/3), along with tying for the league lead in complete games with two. He more than earned the extension he signed last June. In fact, his impressive performance led to a 10th-place finish in NL Cy Young voting.
As ESPN points out, Sánchez has already made massive improvements to the velocity of his sinker. After sitting down around 92 mph back in 2023, it's now sitting 96.1 mph early this season, touching 98 mph. His changeup and slider are already top-notch, and he has also developed a nasty cutter.
Propelling his so-called weakest pitch into the elite category could make his potential limitless. That is exactly why ESPN's David Schoenfield predicts Sánchez to finish in the top five in Cy Young voting in 2025.
Cristopher Sánchez, Painted 98mph Front Door Two Seamer. 🖌️🎨
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 31, 2025
Can't tell from the camera angle, but this had 19 inches of run. pic.twitter.com/edlUxCjhML
Just to prove his worth, the 28-year-old left-hander is already off to a good start this season. He gave up just one earned run on four hits with seven strikeouts in just over five innings of work in his season debut. He followed that up with a nine-strikeout performance in 5 2/3 innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.
With Wheeler and Nola already the Phillies’ de-facto co-aces of the pitching staff, Sánchez could be joining them in short order over the course of 2025. After making his first All-Star team last season, if things go as planned, we could see him at the Midsummer Classic again this year as one of the games’ fastest risers.
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