The Miami Marlins made a couple moves on Major League Baseball’s first ever hard Trade Deadline. They traded away reliever Sergio Romo and replaced him in a different trade with Ryne Stanek from the Tampa Bay Rays. In the deal to acquire Stanek, the team also acquired a promising outfielder in Jesus Sanchez.
Sanchez is regarded as the Marlins third-best prospect according to MLB Pipeline. He was originally an international signing by the Rays and has shown his ability to hit ever since. He received his first promotion to Double A last year, but struggled a bit, hitting just .214 in his 27-game cup of coffee. He maintained a 19.1 strikeout rate, but is seeing a rise in his walk rate. He was chosen to represent the Rays organization in the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game.
He was assigned to Double A to begin the 2019 season and performed better. He slashed .272/.329/.400 in 79 games with 8 homers and 49 RBI. Three weeks before this trade, Sanchez was promoted to Triple A Durham. What excites the Marlins the most is his elite bat speed and hand-eye coordination. He could hit for above average power, about 15-20 homers a season. Many scouts believe this could increase as he gets stronger and grows into his body. He’ll be able to drive in close to 100 runs as well.
He isn’t very patient at the plate, so he won’t draw many walks. This could limit Sanchez in the middle of the lineup, but it depends on how his power develops. He should still be a very successful hitter in the major leagues. It doesn’t seem likely Sanchez will be ready this year, but he may be a midseason call-up candidate for 2020 before being a full-time big leaguer in 2021.
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