An inside look at the Phillies top prospects.
(MLBPipeline lists the top 30 prospects on each team’s website. While biding time waiting for baseball to resume, Steve Potter will provide his views of these young players. A Clearwater resident, his passion is seeing and following these prospects in person. Normally, Spectrum Field and Carpenter Complex are his second homes. His 4th Annual Phillies Minor League Digest is on sale at www.amazon.com.)
LHP Christopher Sanchez
Phillies #17 prospect according to MLB.com … 23 years old … signed 7/13/2015 by Tampa Bay - Acquired by Phillies 11/20/19 in trade for IF Curtis Mead - from La Romana, Dominican Republic
We didn’t see much of Christopher this spring ... just a couple outings, one of which was a simulated game on Roberts Field. He came advertised as having big arm capabilities ( 97-98 MPH ) with a big sweep slider. We saw the slider but the velocity wasn’t evident ... perhaps due to it being early in the spring.
I spoke to a scout I know from the Rays and he told me that Sanchez has big upside, that it took him awhile to develop but that he believes the young man is close to big league ready and “could be a good one”.
Projections : I believe the plan was for Christopher to begin at Reading taking a regular turn in the rotation ... our current state has obviously changed things. He’s tall and lanky and delivers from a slightly lower than 3/4 arm slot ( at least that’s what I saw ) ... if he has the repertoire as reported and the movement to accompany it the release point is well hidden - the combined package could indeed make him a “good one” in the show - gotta see more ... that’s always the case with “prospects” 🤓
