Sixto Sánchez Encarnación (born July 29, 1998) is a Dominican

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB).

Early life

Sánchez was born in

San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic San Cristóbal is a city in the southern region of Dominican Republic. It is the municipal (''municipio'') capital of the San Cristóbal province. The municipality is located in a valley at the foothills of the mountains belonging to the Cordille ...

. He played shortstop as a youth.

Career

Philadelphia Phillies

Minor Leagues

The

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

happened upon Sánchez when they saw him throwing

batting practice B backdoor breaking ball :A breaking pitch, usually a slider, curveball, or cut fastball that, due to its lateral motion, passes through a small part of the strike zone on the outside edge of the plate after seeming as if it would miss the pla ...

at a workout for a Cuban catcher the Phillies were scouting in 2014. He signed with the Phillies for a $35,000

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

as an international

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in February 2015. He made his professional debut as a

that year with the Dominican Summer League Phillies. He had 1–2

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

with a 4.56

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

. He pitched in 2016 with the Rookie

Gulf Coast Phillies The Florida Complex League Phillies are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Phillies. The team plays ...

. He was 5–0 (tied for 4th in the

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the lo ...

in wins) with an 0.50 ERA, a

WHIP A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

of 0.759, and a 5.50

strikeout-to-walk ratio In baseball statistics, strikeout-to-walk ratio (K/BB) is a measure of a pitcher's ability to control pitches, calculated as strikeouts divided by bases on balls. A hit by pitch is not counted statistically as a walk, and therefore not counted ...

. At 17 years of age, his

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. "Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thro ...

was 97-98 mph. He was named both a ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' Rookie All Star, and a Gulf Coast League Post-Season All Star. ''Baseball America'' named him the Number 80 prospect in baseball. Sánchez started 2017 with the Class A

Lakewood BlueClaws The Jersey Shore BlueClaws (formerly Lakewood BlueClaws) are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Lakewood, New Jersey, and are named for their locat ...

, and was promoted to the Class A+

Clearwater Threshers The Clearwater Threshers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Clearwater, Florida, and have played their home games at BayCare Ballpark since 2 ...

during the season, with whom he was the youngest pitcher in the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

. On July 30 he was named

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

Pitcher of the Week. He threw a fastball in the high 90s that reached 102 mph. Between the two teams he was 5–7 with a 3.03 ERA, a WHIP of 0.958, and a 4.67 strikeout-to-walk ratio. ''Baseball America'' named him the Number 25 prospect in baseball, MLB.com ranked him as the Number 26 prospect, and MLB Pipeline named him the No. 47 prospect."Three Phillies prospects named to 2019 Baseball America Top 100"
/ref> Sánchez entered 2018 as the Phillies number one prospect and one of the top prospects overall in the minors, pitching again for Clearwater. He has been compared to

Pedro Martinez Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for '' Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning ...

. On June 3 he was named Florida State League Pitcher of the Week, and he was named a Florida State League Mid-Season All Star. The Phillies shut him down after June 3 due to right elbow inflammation. He was 4–3 with a 2.51 ERA, and a 4.09 strikeout-to-walk ratio. ''Baseball America'' named him the Number 13 prospect in baseball, MLB Pipeline named him the No. 21 prospect, and

Baseball Prospectus Baseball Prospectus (BP) is an organization that publishes a website, BaseballProspectus.com, devoted to the sabermetric analysis of baseball. BP has a staff of regular columnists and provides advanced statistics as well as player and team perf ...

ranked him as the Number 23 prospect.

Miami Marlins

On February 7, 2019, Sánchez was traded with

Jorge Alfaro Jorge Mario Alfaro Buelvas (born June 11, 1993) is a Colombian professional baseball catcher who is a free agent. Alfaro signed with the Texas Rangers as a free agent in 2010, and was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in 2015. He made his ML ...

Will Stewart John Stewart Williamson (April 29, 1908 – November 10, 2006), who wrote as Jack Williamson, was an American science fiction writer, often called the "Dean of Science Fiction". He is also credited with one of the first uses of the term '' gen ...

, and $250,000 in international bonus slot money to the

in exchange for J. T. Realmuto. He began the 2019 season with the

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...

. Sánchez was named to the 2019

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League ...

. In 2019 between Jacksonville and the Class A+

Jupiter Hammerheads The Jupiter Hammerheads are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in the town of Jupiter, Florida, Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home game ...

he was 8-6 with a 2.76 ERA in 20 starts (114.0 innings). Sánchez was added to the Marlins 40–man roster following the 2019 season. On August 20, 2020, Sánchez was promoted to the major leagues. He made his major league debut on August 22, and notched his first career win. Sánchez completed the season with a 3-2 record, and a 3.46 ERA over 39 innings. On October 2, 2020, Sánchez made his postseason debut, going for 5 innings, while allowing no earned runs. Sánchez received a single vote in

National League Rookie of the Year In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The aw ...

voting, tying him for seventh place with

Ian Anderson Ian Scott Anderson (born 10 August 1947) is a British musician, singer and songwriter best known for his work as the lead vocalist, flautist, acoustic guitarist and leader of the British rock band Jethro Tull. He is a multi-instrumentalist w ...

and Andrés Giménez. On July 5, 2021, Sánchez underwent season-ending surgery after an MRI revealed a small tear in the posterior capsule of his right shoulder. He did not make any appearances for the Marlins organization in 2021 due to the injury. Sánchez did not make an appearance for any Miami affiliate during the 2022 season as he recovered from surgery. On October 5, 2022, he underwent surgery for right shoulder

arthroscopic Arthroscopy (also called arthroscopic or keyhole surgery) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure on a joint in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage is performed using an arthroscope, an endoscope that is inserted into the jo ...

bursectomy A bursectomy is the removal of a bursa, which is a small sac filled with synovial fluid that cushions adjacent bone structures and reduces friction in joint movement. This procedure is usually carried out to relieve chronic inflammation (bursitis) ...

. Sánchez was optioned to the Triple-A

to begin the 2023 season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanchez, Sixto 1998 births Living people Clearwater Threshers players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Summer League Phillies players Florida Complex League Phillies players Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp players Jupiter Hammerheads players Lakewood BlueClaws players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Miami Marlins players Sportspeople from San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic