© John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports
Christopher Sánchez is Throwing One of the Best Pitches in Baseball
Cristopher Sánchez has done quite well for the Philadelphia Phillies in his limited time with the big league club.
The 25-year-old left-hander has a 3.48 ERA in nine games this season (two starts), and his underlying numbers are similarly impressive. Sánchez has a 3.42 xERA, 4.31 FIP, and 4.14 xFIP in 20.2 innings pitched. He has allowed two home runs while striking out 17 batters.
For a depth starter and long reliever, those are pretty good numbers. Nine games is a small sample size, but the point remains — Sánchez has been everything the Phillies have hoped for and more so far this season.
The southpaw relies heavy on his sinker, throwing it close to 65% of the time, making him one of the most sinker-dependent pitchers in baseball right now. He mixes it up with a slider and a changeup, but the sinker is clearly his pitch of choice.
The fact that Sánchez only throws three pitches — and that he relies so heavily on one of them — limits his ceiling as a starting pitcher. In his 20.2 IP this year, however, his sinker has been good enough on its own to get the job done.
According to Baseball Savant, Sánchez’s sinker has been worth 4 runs above average, which ranks 31st out of 296 qualified pitchers (min. 10 batters faced, 20 sinkers thrown).
It has been his best put-away pitch too, resulting in a strikeout in more than 30% of the two-strike counts he has used it in.
Cristopher Sánchez has made two starts for the Philadelphia Phillies this season.
© Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
Sánchez will face his toughest challenge yet when he starts against St. Louis on Sunday. The Cardinals have been the best lineup in the National League against left-handed pitching this year, and their three most dangerous hitters — Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, and Tyler O’Neill — have all performed particularly well against sinkers.
It will be a tough task for the young southpaw, but if Sánchez can give the Phillies four or five solid innings, and keep them in the ballgame, he should consider it a success. It would prove just how good a pitch his sinker truly is.
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