Ali Sanchez/Photo by Ed Delany, MMN
20. Ali Sanchez, C
B/T: R/R Age: 23 (1/20/97)
Height: 6’0” Weight: 196 lbs
Acquired: Signed as an International Free Agent in 2013 (Carora, Venezuela)
ETA: 2020 Previous Rank: 24
2019 Stats (Binghamton/Syracuse): .261/.326/.322, 17 2B, 1 HR, 33 RBI, 17.5% K, 7.8 BB%, 88 wRC+
When Sanchez was signed as part of the 2013 International Free Agent class, the initial scouting report of him centered around his excellent defensive abilities. Seven years later, the profile remains relatively unchanged as he finds himself on the doorsteps of the MLB.
With pop times that are sub 2.00 seconds and a strong arm behind the plate, Sanchez continues to mow down would be base-stealers with regularity. In his 81 starts between Double-A and Triple-A, Sanchez threw out 31 out of 70 base-runners (44%), was fourth best in the Eastern League at throwing runners out (minimum 30 attempts), and was ten basis points higher than the league average (34%). Oddly enough, Sanchez also posted his worst “passed ball” season of his career with thirteen of them in 2019. To put this into perspective, Sanchez had only allowed seventeen passed balls in the previous three years combined. Of course, this could certainly just be an outlier as a result of score-keeping and the fact that knuckle-baller Mickey Jannis was a part of the Rumble Ponies pitching staff.
While the defensive profile hasn’t changed much, Sanchez’s approach at the plate did change significantly in 2019. With a new focus on “hunting for his pitches,” the former free swinger gave way for a more patient approach. While he struggled adjusting to his new plan of attack at first, after an adjustment period, he eventually made significant gains. In April and May, Sanchez posted a .326 OBP with a 24.6% K rate and a 8.7% BB rate. From June to September though, Sanchez posted the same .326 OBP but with a far more sustainable 13.1% K rate and 7.2% BB rate.
Sanchez carried over these improvements into his second stint in the Arizona Fall League where he posted a paltry .120/.241/.160 slash line in 2018. As part of a catching rotation trio with San Francisco Giants top prospect Joey Bart and his Rumble Ponies teammate Patrick Mazeika, Sanchez put together a much improved stat line of a .262/.347/.310, pretty similar to his regular season production.
Even if Sanchez has peaked offensively as a .260 AVG/.650 OPS type hitter, his plus plus defensive abilities still makes him a pretty sure bet to contribute at the MLB level as a back-up catcher at a bare minimum, perhaps even as soon as this season if incumbent back-up Tomas Nido does not improve both offensively (.191 AVG/.547 OPS) or at controlling the MLB running game (8% CS rate).
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