Philadelphia Phillies All-Star Pitcher Taking Performance to Next Level

The Philadelphia Phillies are going to go as far as their pitching staff takes them during the 2025 season.

It is the backbone and strength of the squad, as the front office has done a wonderful job of putting together arguably the best rotation in baseball.

Anchoring the unit is Zack Wheeler, who looks as sharp as ever this spring after finishing second in the National League Cy Young Award race in 2024. He is followed by Aaron Nola, who is as reliable as any frontline starter in the game.

Ranger Suarez emerged as an All-Star in 2024 and will be looking to replicate that performance as he prepares for free agency after the year.

In the offseason, Jesus Luzardo was acquired in a trade from the Miami Marlins to round out the group and top prospect Andrew Painter is expected to join the mix at some point during the summer.

Rounding out the group is Cristopher Sanchez, who emerged last season as an All-Star along with Suarez and Wheeler.

After struggling to make much of an impact as a reliever for most of his first two seasons in the Major Leagues, he was shifted to the rotation in 2023 and performed at a much higher level.

That positive momentum didn’t stop heading into 2024, as Sanchez went 11-9 with a 3.32 ERA across 31 starts and 181.2 innings. He isn’t blowing opponents away with 153 strikeouts, but he does a great job of mixing up his arsenal and limiting hard contact with pinpoint control.

Entering his prime at 28 years old, his production could be in for a sizable spike in 2025 based on what he has shown thus far in spring training.

Against the Tampa Bay Rays in his debut on Feb. 25, he fired two scoreless innings, striking out three with only one hit allowed.

In his second outing, the Baltimore Orioles were able to scratch out two runs, one earned, on two hits and one walk. Despite being scored upon for the first time in the exhibition season, Sanchez’s stuff was even nastier this time out than his first.

His proStuff+ was 113, a very strong mark. He also generated an elite 40.9% whiff rate and the Orioles didn’t manage to barrel up a single pitch as he had a 0.0% barrel rate.

All four of his pitches, sinker, changeup, cutter and slider, were operating at a high level with proStuff+ scores ranging from 108 up to 125, all well above-average numbers.

Last year, Cristopher Sánchez broke out…

And now, he’s back at Spring Training with even better stuff…

What does that mean for this season?? pic.twitter.com/htPLfKIbOA
— Pitch Profiler (@pitchprofiler) March 2, 2025

Sanchez struck out five Baltimore hitters, giving him eight during the spring in only 4.2 innings worked.

If the uptick in strikeout numbers is here to stay, he is going to start being recognized as a front-end starter around the league. That could be the next step in his development after his All-Star break out last year.

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