Adopt A Prospect - Gary Sanchez, Yankees

[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.