Another Big League Debut article, another Marlins call up. Outfielder Jesus Sanchez is the four top 10 Marlins prospect from our offseason list to make his major league debut, joining Sixto Sanchez, Lewin Diaz and Monte Harrison. The Marlins’ outfield is hitting .211/.305/.291 thus far this season and the team has struggled recently so they’re looking to get a jolt.
Sanchez came over in the trade with the Rays that sent Nick Anderson to Tampa. The Dominican Republic native signed back in 2014 for $400,000 and has always been young for the levels he’s at despite how he’s been slow rolled.
The Rankings
Sanchez checked in #3 in our Marlins Top 30 list and #109 on our Top 500 Fantasy list.
The Tools
Hit (40 present/50 future): The good news: Jesus Sanchez has above average bat speed and enough reach in the zone that he’s able to spoil pitches often. His bat control is evident when he makes contact even on pitches he gets fooled on. He crushes stuff low in the zone but has struggled with high heat. The bad news: He’s too aggressive which limits his walks and according to Fangraphs had a 7-degree launch angle in 2019, which results in a lot of ground balls.
Power (50 game/60 raw): I was tempted to be aggressive and give him a 70-raw grade. He’s got a well built frame with good muscle. Sanchez freaking rocks the baseball when he makes contact. And when he fully gets ahold of one, he hits it as far as the best power hitters. But right now despite how hard he’s hitting it (Fangraphs has 92 Avg EV for 2019), he wasn’t elevating. Because the Alternate Training Site is shrouded in secrecy, it’s unknown whether this is something he’s fixed.
Defense (50 throw/60 field): Sanchez has everyday player upside thanks to an above-average defensive profile to fall back on. He can fit comfortably in right field without getting his arm exploited and has easy actions to the ball.
Speed (45): Sanchez isn’t a base stealer (no more than seven steals in any minor league season). He might sneak a couple because of the Marlins’ tendencies to run like wild recently. But his speed is more of an asset in the field than on the basepaths.
Prediction
I’m worried Sanchez is going to have a large learning curve in the majors because of his over aggressiveness. He should capitalize on mistakes because of his bat skills but strong sequencing will be a weakness forcing him to adjust. He won’t look as helpless as Monte Harrison does right now, but expect a league average player to start.
Fantasy Impact
As of this publishing the Marlins haven’t signaled their intentions with Sanchez. In the intro I mentioned the outfield struggles so there’s a chance he carves out everyday AB if he starts strong. Right now I’d take a flier in 15-team leagues and deeper and certainly NL-only leagues. In leagues shallower than that I’d wait and see. Be wary in OBP leagues.