No Marlins for rookie of the year this season, but they should have contenders in 2021
Sixto Sanchez was five starts into his highly anticipated inaugural Major League Baseball season with the Miami Marlins when the thought started circling.
Could the Marlins’ top prospect and hopeful ace of the future, despite what will be a limited sample size in an already limited season, make a late push for the National League’s Rookie of the Year? His stat line to that point certainly gave him a case for consideration (3-1 record, 1.69 ERA, 29 strikeouts to five walks in 32 innings).
But any chance of Sanchez becoming the fourth-ever Marlins player to win Rookie of the Year and first since Jose Fernandez in 2013 quickly evaporated after his final two regular-season starts. Seven total innings pitched. Nine runs allowed on 12 hits and six walks. Two lopsided losses.
Milwaukee Brewers reliever Devin Williams ultimately won the 2020 NL Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year, voted on by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America at the end of the regular season and announced Monday on MLB Network. He beat out Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm and San Diego Padres second baseman Jake Cronenworth for the title. Sanchez finished tied for seventh, receiving one third-place vote among the 30 ballots. Each voter was allowed to vote for their top-three rookies.
The bright side for the Marlins: Sanchez, the 22-year-old right-hander who can hit 101 mph with his fastball and the low 90s with his change-up, still holds rookie eligibility heading into the 2021 season.
So, too, do the six other prospects ranked among the club’s top-10 in the organization who made their debuts during the 60-game 2020 season. MLB considers players to be rookies as long as they have not exceeded 130 at-bats, 50 innings pitched or 45 days on an MLB active roster.
That means the Marlins have their litter of candidates to take home the rookie of the year title in 2021.
Sanchez, of course, will be the headliner if he can build upon his 2020 campaign.
That means learning as much from his failures as his successes as he embarks on what should be his first full big-league season.
Sanchez’s pure stuff is undeniable. He threw 13 pitches during the regular season that hit at least 100 mph, second only to New York Mets ace. Jacob deGrom among starting pitchers.
Nine of those 13 went for strikes. Sanchez’s fastball averaged 98.5 mph, fourth-best in MLB behind deGrom (98.6), Brusdar Graterol (98.8) and Dustin May (99.1) among pitchers who threw at least 250 pitches in the regular season.
He dazzled in his postseason debut, firing five shutout innings against the Chicago Cubs to clinch the best-of-3 wild card series at Wrigley Field. Sanchez struck out six and got himself out of a pair of jams during the game.
But a high-end pitching arsenal is only effective if there’s a plan that goes with it. Sanchez was able to blow past opposing offenses the first time he faced a new team. Teams adjusted after that. Sanchez now must make those adjustments himself.
“The experience taught me I still have a lot of work to do this offseason,” Sanchez said after the Marlins’ 7-0, season-ending loss to the Braves in the National League Division Series. After throwing six shutout innings in his first career start against the Braves on Sept. 8, Sanchez gave up eight runs over six innings in his next two outings against Atlanta, including four runs in three innings in the NLDS. “I’m going to work and work smart and stay focused in every little thing I’m doing so I can show up next year and make this team and help them in any way I can.”
Marlins manager Don Mattingly said earlier this offseason that Sandy Alcantara, Pablo Lopez and Elieser Hernandez are almost locks to open the season as part of the starting rotation. Sanchez would appear to be a favorite to hold one of the final two spots, but he will have to compete with the likes of Trevor Rogers, Nick Neidert, Jose Urena and Edward Cabrera, among others, to be part of the roster on Opening Day.
“Sixto showed what he’s capable of,” Mattingly said. “There was some downside to that and some areas where he needs to grow. There will be more discussions. Trevor Rogers is in the same boat. You see the upside; you also see things that would have helped him continue to develop.”
Other NL Rookie of the Year contenders
Internally, the Marlins could have multiple players capable of taking home the 2021 NL Rookie of the Year award, depending of course on how they handle the roster. The main contenders would we Cabrera (the club’s sixth-ranked prospect), middle infielder Jazz Chisholm (No. 4 prospect in the organization who will compete with Isan Diaz in spring training to be the starting second baseman), and outfielders JJ Bleday, Jesus Sanchez and Monte Harrison (the Nos. 2, 5 and 10 prospects in the Marlins’ system, respectively).
Elsewhere in the National League, early frontrunners for the top rookie are likely to include Braves pitcher Ian Anderson and outfielder Christian Pache, Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, Padres pitcher MacKenzie Gore, Cardinals outfielder Dylan Carlson and Giants catcher Joey Bart.
This story was originally published November 9, 2020 at 6:20 PM.
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