Pitcher Sixto Sanchez, who has dazzled everyone from scouts to writers to players to fans, has been promoted from Lakewood to Clearwater.
The right-hander, who turned 19 on Saturday and has a fastball that regularly hits the upper 90s and can reach more than 100 mph, put up a 2.41 ERA over 13 starts in class-A Lakewood. More impressive, in 67.1 innings, Sanchez struck out 64 and walked nine. He has allowed one home run in his amateur career.
His starts have become must-watch events for scouts and writers alike. Stories are published after each of them about Sanchez’s velocity, his solid though working secondary offerings and his ability to command the game.
Sanchez is regarded as the Phils’ top pitching prospect; some midseason prospect rankings place Sanchez at the top of the class, above J.P. Crawford, Mickey Moniak and Jorge Alfaro, among others.
Tim MalcolmTim first found the Phillies as a little infant at Veteran’s Stadium, cheering on a Juan Samuel game-winning home run in his very first game. With the pinstripes in his blood, he witnessed Terry Mulholland’s 1990 no-hitter, “Steve Carlton Night” at the Vet, game three of the 1993 World Series, countless games during the charmed 2008 championship season and various road excursions. Since November 2007 Tim’s been writing about them daily at Phillies Nation, becoming one of the world’s most popular Phillies scribes. You can catch him on Twitter and Facebook, as well. When he’s not talking about the Phils he’s relaxing with a St. Bernardus ABT 12 or one of his many favored brews.
