Rain delays top Marlins prospect Sixto Sanchez’s debut. Here’s when he’ll pitch now
Sixto Sanchez was ready.
The Miami Marlins’ top prospect, obtained from the Philadelphia Phillies in February as part of the J.T. Realmuto trade along with starting catcher Jorge Alfaro and pitching prospect Will Stewart, was ready to take the mound and make his organizational debut on Thursday with the Marlins Class A advanced affiliate Jupiter Hammerheads.
Mother Nature had other plans.
Torrential downpour at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium caused the Hammerhead’s game against the Bradenton Mauraders to be canceled. Sanchez, the No. 26 prospect in all of MLB according to MLBPipeline, will now make his debut on the road Friday when the Hammerheads face the Port Charlotte Stone Crabs.
“I was very anxious today,” Sanchez said through an interpreter. “I was ready to go out there and just wanted to pitch for them for the first time.”
With the inclement weather expected ahead of the scheduled 6:30 p.m. start and a delay seeming inevitable, Sanchez only went through his pre-game routine. He did not throw any pitches to warm up.
The Marlins have taken a cautious approach during the past couple months with Sanchez, whose 2018 season was limited because of right elbow inflammation. The 20-year-old right handed pitcher was limited to 46 2/3 innings in 18 starts last year in the Phillies organization. He struck out 45 batters while walking just 11 in that span.
But at his best, Sanchez has the potential to be a top-of-the-rotation pitcher if he can stay healthy.
Meanwhile, the other two players the Marlins received from the Realmuto trade are already showing strides.
Alfaro leads the Marlins with a .288 batting average and five home runs (all to opposite field).
Stewart, the Marlins’ No. 21 prospect, is 1-1 on the year through four starts in Jupiter with a 4.34 ERA. Most of the damage to his stats, however, came in one bad start on April 25, when the 6-2, 175-pound lefty gave up six earned runs on five hits and two walks while only recording one out.
In his three starts prior to that collapse, Stewart had given up just three runs in 18 1/3 innings, striking out 18 batters while walking six and giving up 11 hits. He carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning of his second start in the Marlins organization.
Sanchez will get a chance to make his first imprint on the organization on Friday.
“I’m always prepared,” Sanchez said. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t make it happen today, but I’m always going to keep working.
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