The Miami Marlins made a sizable move to acquire Los Angeles Dodgers prospect pitcher Angel Sanchez on Saturday, and he brings a lot to the table that should excite Marlins fans.
The official MLB Twitter account reported the done deal, which involved Sanchez as one of three minor leaguers moving for right-hander Ricky Nolasco:
Although Miami is already 17 games back from the NL East lead before the All-Star break, it has still been able to build a solid factory of high-profile prospects who should blossom into a decent team in a number of years.
Sanchez will be the newest addition to that future list of stars, as the 23-year-old looks to come in and make it to the MLB sooner rather than later.
Let’s take a look at everything you need to know about the Marlins’ newest addition, Angel Sanchez.
*All stats, unless otherwise noted, are courtesy of Baseball America.
1. The Specs
A long-limbed pitching prospect, Sanchez uses the most out of his 6’3″ frame. This right-hander is from the Dominican Republic and will turn 24 in November, so he has plenty of seasoning.
With long arms and a wide wingspan, Sanchez is able to sprawl out and cover a lot more ground with his wind-up. This allows him to throw a deadly fastball and also offer up deception on more signature pitches.
Despite his tall frame, Sanchez has a bit of filling out to do. He only weighs 177 pounds, and his lankiness is evident out on the mound.
Simply put, a couple of seasons in a major league weight program could do wonders for Sanchez’s power on the mound.
2. He Almost Threw a No-Hitter
It’s not too often at all that you hear about an MLB player throwing a no-hitter, much less a minor league player in single-A.
But Sanchez almost joined that elite group of players, and it was not too long ago. According to Hugh Bernreuter of MLive.com, the 23-year-old entered the seventh inning of a May 6 game with a no-hitter intact.
He would end up giving up a hit to lead off the seventh, and his team actually lost the game after a reliever came in and gave up three runs. But that doesn’t take away the achievement that it is to toss a no-hitter throughout two-thirds of a contest.
3. Emergence in 2011
The Dominican Republic slinger wasn’t highly touted as one of the Dodgers’ best minor league prospects, but that all changed after he emerged as a big-time threat in 2011.
Pitching for the Great Lakes Loons of the Low-A, Sanchez went 8-4 on the season with a formidable 2.82 ERA. He also gave up just 72 hits in 99 innings.
Perhaps the most amazing statistic from his 2011 breakout campaign was the fact that he held opponents to a .198 batting average.
Just 21 years old at the time, people started talking more and more about Sanchez’s ability to become a big-time MLB pitcher after this breakout year.
4. 2012 Struggles Carried Into 2013
After putting lofty expectations upon himself from such a great opening season in the farm system, Sanchez struggled to get back to that talent level in 2012.
Spending the whole season with Rancho Cucamonga of High-A, Sanchez went just 6-12 on the season. Also, his ERA ballooned to 6.58, almost four runs higher than what he averaged the previous year.
The season was also a bigger sample size, as he tossed 130 innings in 27 appearances for the year. He gave up more hits (157) than innings pitched and almost gave up one run per inning.
He was demoted back to Low-A with Great Lakes to start 2013, but it didn’t turn around his performances as he went 2-7 before going back to Cucamonga.
Really, he’s been struggling to emerge as a major league pitcher ever since the end of the 2011 season. Other than his near no-hitter, Sanchez needs to turn it around and use his skill set to emerge as a member of the Marlins.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com