He’s the Marlins’ longest-tenured position player. Can he take the next step?
Jesus Sanchez is only 27 years old. He’s entering his sixth MLB season but just his third as what will most likely be an everyday player for the Miami Marlins.
But on this Marlins team, one that is going through a full youth movement, Sanchez is the club’s longest-tenured position player essentially a bona fide veteran.
“It’s a little bit to think about,” Sanchez said early in spring training. “But if that’s what I have to do, if that’s a role [I have to take on], let’s do it.”
Sanchez has steadily seen his playing time increase each season since making his MLB debut during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Last season, the outfielder set career-highs in games played (149), at-bats, hits (123), doubles (25), home runs (18), RBI (64), runs scored (60) and stolen bases (16) while hitting .252 with a .730 on-base-plus-slugging mark.
That said, there is still plenty of work for Sanchez to do to reach his full potential — and he’s ready to showcase that he can get it done.
“I think Jesus Sanchez is here,” Sanchez said. “Last year was a success in many situations. And here I am, just looking to improve and do better this year.”
Where Jesus Sanchez has made strides
Sanchez’s biggest strength is his ability to do massive damage at the plate.
His average exit velocity last season was a career-best 92.5 mph, which was in the 93rd percentile of all qualified hitters last season. His hard-hit rate, the percentage of balls in play with an exit velocity of at least 95 mph, was a career-best 51.3 percent and in the top-five percent of the league.
Sanchez has also steadily improved against offspeed pitches during his Marlins tenure. He hit a career-best .284 with a .531 slugging percentage against offspeed pitches last season. This included six of his 18 home runs.
Where Jesus Sanchez still has room to grow
While Sanchez’s power is undeniable, he needs to being able to unleash it on a more consistent basis. There are a few elements of his game that he can improve upon to make that happen. Among them...
▪ Cut down on the swings and misses: Sanchez whiffed on a career-high 31.2 percent of his swings last season and has steadily seen his swing-and-miss rate increase season over season. That has come with an increase in swinging at pitches out of the zone (career-high 36.1 percent in 2024) while staying about on par with his contact rate on those pitches (52.6 percent chase contact rate last season and a career 52.7 percent rate overall) and missing on too many pitches in the zone (a career-low 77.6 percent contact rate on pitches inside the strike zone).
▪ Improve against breaking balls: Sanchez has a career .186 batting average against breaking balls (82 for 440) with 162 strikeouts.
▪ Elevate the ball more: 48.9 percent of the balls Sanchez has put into play during his MLB career have been ground balls, four-and-a-half percentage points above the MLB average of 44.4 percent. Getting more of those balls into the air would be beneficial.
Where Jesus Sanchez fits with the Marlins in 2025
Because of his power potential, Sanchez likely slots somewhere in the middle of Miami’s lineup.
Defensively, Sanchez has primarily played right field during his MLB career with 234 of his 358 outfield starts coming there.
However, first-year Marlins manager Clayton McCullough plans to solely give Sanchez reps in center field during spring training to see if he could be a viable option there. Beyond Sanchez, Miami’s main center field options are outfielders Dane Myers, Derek Hill, Kyle Stowers; utility player Javier Sanoja; and non-roster invitee Albert Almora Jr.
.JPG)