Philadelphia Phillies Young Starter Poised for Breakout Season After Adjustments

Will a talented young starter for the Philadelphia Phillies be even better in 2025?

May 13, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Christopher Sanchez (61) delivers a pitch against the New York Mets during the first inning at Citi Field. | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies are getting set for the start of the new campaign, and they hope it will have a much better result. 

This offseason, the team did an excellent job putting together quite possibly the best starting rotation in baseball. 

Led by Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola, the team has two proven front-end starters at the top of the unit. 

Furthermore, they were able to trade for Jesus Luzardo this winter to solidify the fifth spot in the rotation, which was a weakness with Taijuan Walker as the starter last year. 

While there is depth and front-end talent, Philadelphia also has a young pitcher who might be getting prepared to take that next step toward stardom. 

Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.com recently spoke about left-hander Christopher Sanchez as a player primed for a breakout season after making some adjustments this spring. 

“Sanchez's velo is up this spring, and he's working on a new cutter. After totaling 4.7 WAR last year, he might add more strikeouts (7.5 K/9 last year) as the last part of his profile to help him ascend to ace status.”

The 28-year-old southpaw was arguably able to have his breakout season in 2024, but he might not quite have reached his potential after being selected to his first All-Star team last year. 

In 2024, Sanchez totaled a 11-9 record, 3.32 ERA and 153 strikeouts in 181.2 innings of work. It was an excellent campaign for the young left-hander, but he might be looking to get even better in his second full year as a starter with Philadelphia. 

Adding the cutter into the repertoire should help against right-handed hitters with the baseball moving in toward their hands. Also, improving his ability to strikeout batters will help him be less reliant on batted balls in play. 

In three starts so far this spring, Sanchez’s work this winter appears to be paying dividends. His K-rate has nearly doubled from last year with the Phillies, and while that might not be sustained, it’s an encouraging sign. 

If the southpaw is able to take another step forward, he might end up being the number two pitcher in the rotation. While Wheeler is coming off a Cy Young-caliber campaign, and Nola having a strong year, it was actually Sanchez who had the second-best ERA in the rotation. 

As Philadelphia hopes to bounce back from their disappointing early exit from the postseason, they are going to lean on their starting rotation. If their talented young left-hander gets even better, this unit will be able to rival that of the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Even though it’s hard to have a breakout season after making the All-Star team the year prior, that is exactly what Sanchez will be trying to do.