Aaron Sanchez
Born: 07/01/1992 (Age: 21)
Bats: Right Throws: Right
Height: 6' 4" Weight: 200
Mechanics
Three-quarters arm slot; loose, efficient delivery; doesn’t strain to create velocity; fast arm; soft landing; tends to stay high during finish of delivery; inconsistent throwing downhill; quick out of the stretch; short stride–not much lower body; 1.32-1.43 out of stretch; kept focus with men on base; held velocity deep into outing; doesn’t wear himself out.
Evaluator Chris Mellen
Report Date 05/03/2014
Affiliate New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Double-A)
Dates Seen 04/28/2014
OFP/Risk 65/Moderate
Realistic No. 2/3 starter
MLB ETA 2015
http://www.bluejaysmessageboard.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=653&d=1399380554
Overall
Sanchez’s fastball has the velocity and movement to dominate outings when consistently spotted down in the zone. The combination of run and heavy action make it a very difficult offering to square up in the lower tier of the zone. I liked the overall look of the pitch, and feel it’s a fastball that can continue to play at the highest level. The pitcher is inconsistent finishing his delivery, especially out of the stretch in this outing, and it caused the heater to stay up. While this particular lineup didn’t do much damage, it’s an area where the pitch tends to be easier to square and better hitters are going to be able to handle it.
I see Sanchez always having to work and fight to reel his fastball in. First, the right-hander isn’t that great at throwing downhill. He tends to stay more upright in his delivery, which leads to having trouble staying above the fastball. This showed inning-to-inning and at times batter-to-batter. Also, the natural movement of the pitch actually gives him less margin of error. Sanchez needs to be more precise and consistently account for the movement when trying to spot it. Overall, I see it more likely that the command hovers around average or so.
In this outing the righty didn’t throw a secondary offering until the fourth inning, but the curveball immediately showed as a premium offering. The depth and shape of the pitch are excellent, with Sanchez displaying strong feel for it. I see the potential to miss a lot of bats and neutralize hitters with the curve, along with it to be considered one of the better ones in the league. His ability to consistently throw it for strikes in different shapes is impressive. The changeup looked a lot better when thrown to the glove side. The action was deeper. This pitch will be a third offering in Sanchez’s repertoire, but can be viable if strategically worked into sequences.
This pitcher has high-end stuff, and is capable of putting dominant stretches together, especially if he is working down in the zone with his fastball. I see Sanchez likely to battle inconsistencies due to the aforementioned things above, but having the potential to impact a team as an above-average player over the long haul of a career. My gut says the upside is a third starter, with the ability to have a career year or two above that.