Sixto Sanchez’s spring training debut date is set. Here’s the Marlins’ plan for him
Sixto Sanchez’s Grapefruit League debut is set.
The Miami Marlins’ top pitching prospect and a consensus top-25 prospect among all of Major League Baseball is slated to pitch two innings on Monday against the Houston Astros at West Palm Beach’s Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.
Marlins manager Don Mattingly on Saturday said “as long as everything’s going good,” Sanchez would be in line to make as many as three spring training starts ahead of Opening Day on April 1.
“It would be the same for all these guys,” Mattingly said. “As long as they stay on track, he’ll be on a five-day program now.”
Sanchez threw a 26-pitch live batting practice session on the back fields of the Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium complex Thursday. His four-seam fastball sat around 96 mph that day as he faced top hitting prospects JJ Bleday and Jerar Encarnacion.
“I thought it was really good,” Mattingly said Thursday. “He was throwing strikes. ... The reaction of the hitters was his stuff was crisp, his changeup was good. He threw some good cutters, so he looked good. And like I said, we’ll see where he’s at.”
This will be the first time Sanchez has thrown in a live spring training game since joining the Marlins in February 2019 as part of the J.T. Realmuto trade with the Philadelphia Phillies. He didn’t take part in big-league spring training in 2019 as the Marlins eased him back from a right elbow injury and he reported to camp in 2020 out of shape and Miami once again had to take a slow-and-steady approach with him.
Sanchez, ranked as high as No. 6 by Baseball America among MLB prospects, has already dealt with a pair of setbacks this spring that had nothing to do with his health. He was delayed getting back to the United States from the Dominican Republic due to a visa issue and missed the first few days of workouts. He was also sidelined for a few days due to a false positive COVID-19 test.
The 22-year-old made his long-awaited major-league debut with the Marlins during the shortened 2020 season. He made nine starts, including two in the playoffs, and posted a 3.64 ERA with 41 strikeouts against 16 walks through 47 innings.
Pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. said Tuesday that Sanchez will be on an innings limit this season.
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