|
GABY SANCHEZ
|
FIRST BASEMAN
|
 |
Born: September 2, 1983 Height: 6’1″ Weight: 230 Bats: Right Throws: Right Drafted: 4th Round, 126th Overall, 2005 (Marlins) How Acquired: Traded from Marlins College: University of Miami (FL) Agent: Beverly Hills Sports Council |
WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES |
||||||||
| Sanchez missed his junior year at Miami due to a suspension, but the Marlins drafted him based on the familiarity one of their scouts had with him. He put up some gaudy numbers at times in the minors, but not always, and he generally was a little old for his level. He showed mostly doubles power, but also showed exceptional strike zone judgment. He had two solid seasons in the majors for the Marlins, but collapsed in 2012. He’s had strong platoon splits in the majors, with an OPS of .878 against LHPs and .715 against RHPs. He’s shown the ability to steal a base occasionally. In the minors, he played first most of the time, but got considerable time at third in the upper minors and also caught a little in the low minors. UZR and +/- both show him to be above average defensively at first. The Pirates acquired Sanchez and a marginal minor league pitcher for Gorkys Hernandez and the team’s competitive balance lottery pick.
2005 Sanchez had a strong debut in the New York-Penn League, winning the batting title. He played 30 games at third, 12 at first and 11 behind the plate. 2006 Sanchez tore up the South Atlantic League for a while, but had his season derailed by nagging finger and foot injuries. He caught a little but mostly played first. 2007 Spending a full season in the Florida State League, Sanchez hit respectably but didn’t dominate, although at 23 he wasn’t young for the level. He played almost entirely at first, but got into a few games at third and catcher. 2008 In AA, Sanchez had a much better season, with outstanding plate discipline. He split his time evenly between the infield corners. Florida called him up in mid-September, but he saw little action. 2009 Playing in the pitcher’s park in New Orleans, but in the high-offense Pacific Coast League, Sanchez had a good season at the plate. He got brief callups in July and August, then spent September in the majors. He again split his time between first and third. 2010 Sanchez had a solid season as a 26-year-old rookie in the majors. Although the numbers looked superficially good, his OPS+ was 108, which is nothing special for a firstbaseman. 2011 Sanchez’ 2011 season was very similar to his 2010 one. His hitting tailed off just a little, but he had outstanding BB and K numbers. 2012 Sanchez got off to a miserable start with the Marlins. They sent him to the minors in mid-May with his OPS at just .539. He came back up three weeks later and hit about the same. Miami sent him back to AAA again after acquiring Carlos Lee. The most obvious difference with Sanchez from prior years is the sudden drop in his walk rate. He began swinging at a higher percentage of pitches out of the strike zone than the previous year. His line drive rate dropped substantially, with most of the lost line drives becoming popups. That suggests pitchers might have found a weakness, possibly pounding him inside, and he hasn’t adjusted yet. After the trade, Sanchez stepped into Casey McGehee’s role on the short end of the first base platoon with Garrett Jones. He hit well initially, showing more or less his old plate discipline, finishing the season in a 3-for-29 slump. Part of the problem may have been mission creep, as Clint Hurdle played Sanchez increasingly against RHPs; Sanchez ended up getting nearly twice as many ABs against RHPs as against LHPs. Hurdle even started Sanchez at times over Starling Marte, which is truly difficult to comprehend. Given the fact that Sanchez and Jones both historically have had extreme platoon splits, a firstbase platoon makes perfect sense. Hurdle, however, seemed reluctant to stick to a straight platoon. Sanchez had a strong spring and, by the end of camp, it was looking like Hurdle — who’s becoming increasingly obsessed with experience over upside — would play Sanchez regularly at first, with Jones in right. This, of course, would leave Travis Snider riding the bench. The Pirates gave Sanchez a fair amount of time at third in spring training, but with Brandon Inge on the team after he returns from the disabled list, Sanchez seems unlikely to play there much, if at all.
|
