Adopt A Prospect - Gary Sanchez, Yankees

[RickD]

I am adopting Gary Sanchez, a catcher in the New York Yankees farm system.

Full Name: Gary Sanchez
Born: 12/02/1992
Birthplace: Dominican Republic
Height: 6' 2"
Weight: 195
Bats: R
Throws: R

Gary is only 18 years old. I note this as he is #32 on MLB's list of top 50 prospects. After receiving a $3 million signing bonus from the Yankees out of the Dominican Republic, Sanchez batted .353/.419/.597 in the Rookie level Gulf Coast League to earn a late bump to short-season Class A Staten Island, where he played in 16 games and held his own, batting .278/.333/.426

This year he is moving to full season ball in Class A Charleston.

[RickD]

Gary Sanchez was not feeling good recently and the Yankees shur him down for a week and sent him for heart tests. They have been keeping the whole thing close to the vest.


Cashman said 18-year old minor league C Gary Sanchez underwent heart tests, which showed no problems. "He's fine," Cashman said. He has been cleared to resume working out at the minor league complex. "Trust me, there are no worries now with Gary Sanchez. There is nothing more to talk about. He is in minor league camp and is fine."

[RickD]

Baseball America listed the top 100 prospects and Gary Sanchez was listed as #30!

[RickD]

More on what was wrong with Gary Sanchez:

During a recent EKG, the 18-year-old catcher was found to have an extra nerve in his heart from birth. Surgery was performed to cauterize the nerve.

[RickD]

4 games into the season Gary Sanchez has:

.250 BA, .294 OBP, .563 SLG, .857 OPS
He also has 1 HR and 2 RBI.

[RickD]

After 5 games and with his BA dropping to .238, Gary Sanchez is now on the 15 game disabled list with an abdominal injury.

[RickD]

23 games into his first full A season and Gary Sanchez is not producing the offensive numbers from last year.

.198 BA, .235 OBP, .286 SLG, .520 OPS
He also has 18 Hits, 1 HR and 11 RBI.

He would appear in a slump. Defensively Sanchez has already allowed 11 passed balls in 23 games.

[RickD]

27 games in and his numbers are beginning to tick up:

.229 BA, .284 OBP, .390 SLG, .675 OPS
He also has 24 Hits, 3 HR and 18 RBI.

[RickD]

Sanchez has a “stiff lower back” that he’s trying to work through in extended spring training. Once he’s through that, Sanchez will return to Charleston.

He is batting 2.38 right now but was hitting .314over 10 games before he went out with an injury!

[RickD]

44 games in and Gary seems to be adjusting better to pitchers. His numbers are slowly moving up:

.267 BA, .342 OBP, .436 SLG, .779 OPS
He also has 44 Hits, 5 HR and 25 RBI.

Gary Sanchez was named (http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110620&content_id=20765568&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_opotw) the Sally League Player of the Week (six games, .500/.522/.818)

500/.522/.818, 6 G, 11-for-22, 4 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 2 RS, 0 BB, 8 K, 1 SB
One of three highly touted Yankees catching prospects (along with Jesus Montero and Austin Romine), Gary Sanchez showed what all the hubbub is about with his performance this week. He hit safely in each of his six games, getting two base knocks three separate times and going 3-for-4 with a double Saturday. Sanchez also had a two-bagger Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, and he stole his second base of the year in his last game of the week.

[Phil Hughes]

Absolute dominant hitter, he is such a beast! His defense on the other hand... not so much. I believe has already allowed 24 passed balls? An absurd number, for sure. Scouts say he has a Miguel Cabrera type bat, raw power, nice smooth swing. When he hits a homer, he chops at the ball it seems. Weird approach.

Has the tools to be an amazing hitter, and amazing player. I seem him going to a corner OF spot in the future, to preserve space for Montero/Romine (whichever one is not traded). RF seems like a good fit. Pick us Swish's option this off-season, let him play there for 2 years or so, then put Sanchez there when he is MLB ready. If we need to platoon Swisher when he gets older while waiting for Sanchez, we can. Put in Maxwell/Dickerson/or even Heathcott.

[RickD]

The thing is, with Romine and Montero ahead of him, he has tine to work on defense. he is still very young and I look at the number of passed balls more as an inexperience thing. I look to see this number reduce over his career.

[Phil Hughes]

That is true, but who knows how long Montero will be here. He could very easily be traded. Romine, in my opinion, is the catcher of the future, which is why I see Sanchez moving into a different spot. RF seems like a good fit to me, he is big, can move, and I;m sure he can catch a fly ball.....right?

[Phil Hughes]

Low-A Charleston beat Augusta, 5-4.

Gary Sanchez was hitless in four at bats and struck out three times.

[RickD]

After 63 games:

.247 BA, .332 OBP, .424 SLG, .756 OPS
He also has 57 Hits, 9 HR and 33 RBI.

More telling, last month he was sent back to Tampa for an "Attitude Adjustment" after he refused to warm up a pitcher and come off the bench into a game.

He seems back on track now.

Part of the problem is that you have an 18 year old with a $3 Million signing bonus.

Baseball America moved him out of the top 50 prospects in thier mid-season rankings. His .983 fielding % is not bad but his 25 passed balls in 42 games as a catcher is absolutely horrible.

[RickD]

After 76 games:

.251 BA, .327 OBP, .463 SLG, .790 OPS
He also has 71 Hits, 14 HR and 47 RBI.

Defensively, Sanchez retired 32 of the first 107 base runners that attempted to steal against him, a success rate of 29.9 percent. He moves well but needs to improve his ability to block balls in the dirt as well as his footwork on his throws to second.

Sanchez realized his "attitude" did need adjusting and has responded well to his "extended spring training" and it all seems to be behind him now.

[RickD]

Charleston RiverDogs catcher Gary Sanchez has been named the South Atlantic League's Hitter of the Week for games from August 1-7, as announced by the league office on Monday.
During that span, Sanchez batted .500 (11-22) with five home runs, nine RBI, scored five runs, and walked four times. In the process, the 18-year-old dynamo has raised his average to .256 – the highest it has been since June 24 – with a team-high 15 home runs.

His defense still needs work as he has 26 passed balls in 58 appearances behind the plate!

[RickD]

Gary Sanchez is out for the season with a hand injury

FINAL #'s:

After 82 games:

.256 BA, .335 OBP, .485 SLG, .820 OPS
He also has 77 Hits, 17 HR and 52 RBI.

[RickD]

A recent review of Sanchez says this:
Excellent power production in full-season ball at age 18; that is rare. His glove needs work and he needs to take his career more seriously, but he has time to outgrow emotional immaturity.

[astrosfanatic]

i am trying to trade for him right now in my keeper league....*fingers crossed* i am able to pull it off!

[RickD]

His power is good but he needs to work on his defense. To many passed balls last season.

[RickD]

OK, Here we are in 2012. Gary Sanchez had a good spring training with the Yanks in his 6 games: .333 BA, .333 OBP, .333 SLG, .667 OPS He also has 3 Hits and 1 RBI.

In 4 games in the field, none starting, he had a 1.000 FPCT.

He is starting the season back in A Charleston but I don't see him there long. Reports on Sanchez, both performance and attitude, have been very positive this spring. I think he is back in A ball for 2 reasons:

1. Defense. This was his weak spo last year and I think part of the reason he is back is so that he can improve in the field.
2. Attitude. Sanchez let his ego get the better of him at times last year and this "demotion" back to 2011 levels may be a test to see how he handles adversity.

We'll see how it pans out.

[RickD]

After 11 games:

.364 BA, .417 OBP, .455 SLG, .871 OPS
He also has 16 Hits, 0 HR and 4 RBI.

This is a great improvement over 2011.

Even better is his plate work.

He has PO 80 out of 93 chances with 0 errors. His fielding % is 1.000

[BennyLeo]

Not bad there! After Manny Banny got set back by that muscle pull, it's comforting to hear good news on Sanchez. Thanks for the update Rick.

[astrosfanatic]

this is good news. i own him in one of my fantasy leagues. is he looking at a september call-up next year?

[RickD]

Maybe next year but he could catch on in ST 2014 for sure. He will end the season in AA this year.

[RickD]

After 21 games:

.341 BA, .400 OBP, .463 SLG, .863 OPS
He also has 28 Hits, 7 RBI and 6 SB.

He has PO 145 out of 181 chances with 8 errors. His fielding % is .956

He is performing well at the plate but defensively still needs some improvement. He is more like Jesus Montero in that his strength is his bat, not his defense.

[RickD]

After 45 games it's time to check in with my prospect:

.295 BA, .345 OBP, .503 SLG, .848 OPS
He also has 54 Hits, 36 RBI and 8 SB.

He has PO 284 out of 340 chances with 10 errors. His fielding % is .971

He continues performing well at the plate but defensively still needs much improvement. He really needs someone to work with him on defense. His attitude has vastly improved over 2011 as well.

As of last night he hit 3 2B, 4 HR and 15 RBI in his last 4 games!

[astrosfanatic]

Call him up!!! lol

[RickD]

After 58 games it's time to check in with my prospect:

.313 BA, .361 OBP, .545 SLG, .906 OPS
He also has 73 Hits, 51 RBI and 10 SB and 12 HR.

He has PO 342 out of 407 chances with 11 errors. His fielding % is .973

His defense is improving. Last year he had 26 passed Balls in 60 appearances behind the plate. Compare that to this year where in 44 appearnaces behind the plate he has 5 passed balls!

He has been named to the 53rd South Atlantic League All-Star Game.

He is among the league leaders in home runs (12), RBIs (51) and slugging percentage (.545). Over seven games in late May, Sanchez hit .414, going 12-for-29 with five homers, three doubles, 19 RBIs, nine runs, two walks, and a one stolen base.

I think he deserves a shot at the next level! AA

[RickD]

Time for a Gary Sanchez check in.

Catcher Gary Sanchez have been promoted from the Charleston RiverDogs to the Tampa Yankees of the Florida State League.

This move to high class A will be his home for a bit.

He finished his stint with the Riverdogs with the following stats after 68 games:

.297 BA, .353 OBP, .517 SLG, .870 OPS
He also had 78 Hits, 56 RBI and 11 SB and 13 HR.

He PO 398 out of 477 chances with 12 errors. His fielding % was .975

Now with High A Tampa Bay he has the following stats after 12 games:

.209 BA, .292 OBP, .419 SLG, .710 OPS
He also has 9 Hits, 5 RBI and 2 SB and 2 HR.

He has PO 91 out of 102 chances with 2 errors. His fielding % is .980

SO his offense and defensive improvement got him bumped to the next level.

Now he has to work on his offense at the new level.

[RickD]

Well Gary Sanchez has been settling in at High A Tampa Bay and he has been struggling a bit more at the plate.

So far with 27 games under his belt:

.242 BA, .306 OBP, .374 SLG, .679 OPS
He also has 24 Hits, 8 RBI and 2 SB and 2 HR.

He has PO 160 out of 181 chances with 2 errors. His fielding % is .989

His handling of the pitchers is improving over last year. He had 26 Passed balls last year and only 13 so far this year.

[RickD]

Gary Sanchez, 20, batted .290 with 18 home runs -- tops among all Minor League catchers -- and 85 RBIs in 116 games last season for Class A Charleston and Class A Tampa, earning selection as a South Atlantic League All-Star.

Sanchez has been listed as the game's No. 36 overall prospect in the just released 100 top prospects on MLB.com.

This is what hey say about Sanchez:


Sanchez has been on radars since the Yankees gave him $3 million to sign out of the Dominican Republic. Hitting .353 in his United States debut didn’t hurt and he’s tantalized with his skills since. Sanchez appears to have put some of the attitude issues he had during his full-season debut in 2011 behind him and it should be noted he’ll still be just 20 years old for all of the 2013 season. Sanchez earned a promotion in 2012 and his bat should help him continue to move up the ladder. He has above-average raw power and his approach at the plate has improved, giving him the chance to be an outstanding all-around hitter. He’s always had a plus arm behind the plate, but there had been questions about his ability to handle the defensive rigors of the position in the past. He did seem to make some strides with the glove, though he needs to continue to work on his receiving skills, and the Yankees hope that can continue.

[RickD]

Received a Spring Training invite.

[RickD]

Gary Sanchez has started the season back at High A Tampa Bay.

So how is he doing so far with 14 games under his belt:

.358 BA, .426 OBP, .623 SLG, 1.049 OPS
He also has 19 Hits, 14 RBI and 1 SB and 3 HR.

He has PO 82 out of 92 chances with 1 error. His fielding % is .989

His handling of the pitchers is improving over last year. He has 0 Passed balls so far this year, an area he has struggled with year in and year out.

If he continues this, a move to AA this season is not out of the realm of possibility.

[RickD]

So let's peak back in on Gary Sanchez with 39 games in the can:

.273 BA, .351 OBP, .473 SLG, .824 OPS
He also has 41 Hits, 33 RBI and 1 SB and 7 HR.

He has PO 257 out of 284 chances with 1 error. His fielding % is .996

His handling of the pitchers is improving over last year. He has 3 Passed balls so far this year, an area he has struggled with year in and year out.