Sandy Alcántara Montero (born September 7, 1995) is a Dominican

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for the

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(MLB). He signed with the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

as an international

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in 2013, and made his MLB debut with them in 2017. In 2022, Alcántara unanimously won the National League

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall ...

Early life

Alcántara was born in

San Juan de la Maguana San Juan de la Maguana is a city and municipality in the western region of the Dominican Republic and capital of the San Juan province. It was one of the first cities established on the island; founded in 1503, and was given the name of San Juan ...

in the Dominican Republic. He is one of 11 children. When he was 11 years old, his parents sent him to live with an older sister in the capital,

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

, where he could both study for school and attend baseball practice. He dropped out of school in eighth grade to concentrate on a baseball career.

Career

St. Louis Cardinals

In July 2013, at age 17, Alcántara signed with the

as an international free agent. He made his professional debut in 2014 with the

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and spent the whole season there, going 1–9 with a 3.97 ERA in 12 games (11 starts). He spent 2015 with the

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

where he pitched to a 4–4 record and 3.22 ERA in 12 games started, and started 2016 with the

Peoria Chiefs The Peoria Chiefs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The team was established in 1983 as the Peoria Suns. They are located in Peoria, Illinois, and are named for the Peori ...

. During a start in May he tied the Chiefs record with 14 strikeouts. He was promoted to the

Palm Beach Cardinals The Palm Beach Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in the town of Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home games at Roge ...

in July 2016. He finished the 2016 season with a combined 5–11 record with a 3.96 ERA in 23 games started between both clubs. Alcántara began 2017 with the

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. After pitching to a 7–5 record and 4.31 ERA while 4th in the league in walks and leading it with 20 wild pitches in a career high 125.1 innings, the Cardinals promoted him to the major leagues on September 1, 2017. After the season, the Cardinals assigned Alcántara to the

Surprise Saguaros The Surprise Saguaros are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Surprise, Arizona, at Surprise Stadium. The ballpark is also the spring training facility of the Kansas City Royals ...

of the

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(AFL), where he was selected to the Fall Stars Game. He pitched 15 total innings in the AFL, finishing the season with five games started, a 1–2 record, and a 4.20 ERA.

Miami Marlins

On December 14, 2017, the Cardinals traded Alcántara, along with

Magneuris Sierra Magneuris Sierra (born April 7, 1996) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder in the Atlanta Braves organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Miami Marlins and Los Angeles Angels. ...

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, and

Daniel Castano Daniel Alexander Castano (born September 17, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Miami Marlins organization. He made his MLB debut in 2020. Amateur career Castano attended Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas. During ...

to the

for

Marcell Ozuna Marcell Ozuna Idelfonso (born November 12, 1990), nicknamed "The Big Bear", is a People of the Dominican Republic, Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB ...

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ranked Alcántara as Miami's third-best prospect going into the 2018 season. He began 2018 with the

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, and was recalled by Miami on June 28. He made his Marlins debut on June 29 as the

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, pitching five innings in which he gave up one run on three hits and five walks while striking out two, earning the win as Miami defeated the

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8–2. He was placed on the 10-day

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on with a right axillary infection. On May 19, 2019, Alcántara pitched his first career shutout, an 89-pitch two-hit Maddux against the New York Mets. Alcántara was the sole Miami Marlins player named to the 2019 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Pitching the eighth inning, he retired the side. He finished the season with a 6–14 record and a 3.88 ERA over innings in 32 starts, leading the National League in losses and shutouts. In the shortened 2020 season, Alcántara was 3–2 with a 3.00 ERA in 42 innings. Alcántara owns Marlins franchise records of most innings pitched by a rookie, and most innings pitched and strikeouts by a Dominican-born player. On November 28, 2021, the Marlins signed Alcantara to a contract extension worth $56 million, breaking the record for the largest contract for a pitcher under team control with less than four years service time set by Carlos Martinez. In 2022 he was 14-9 with a 2.28 ERA in 32 starts covering 228.2 innings, and led the major leagues in stolen bases of second allowed, with 24. He unanimously won the 2022

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, over second-place pitcher

Max Fried Max Dorian Fried ( ; born January 18, 1994), nicknamed "Maximus", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). Drafted in 2012 by the San Diego Padres in the first round, seventh overall, F ...

Pitching style

Alcántara's fastball velocity generally sits between 97–99 miles per hour, maxing out around 101 mph. He uses both a four-seam fastball and a sinker, which possesses above-average vertical and horizontal movement. His secondary pitches are the changeup (89 mph average velocity), slider (86 mph) and curveball (82 mph), although his use of the curveball is scarce.

Philanthropy

In partnership with The Giving Much More (GMM) Foundation, and The Baseball Club. Alcántara hosted multiple fundraising events in 2019 to collect baseball equipment for underprivileged youth in his native Dominican Republic. This included the first annual "Softball with the Sandman" Charity Baseball Tournament on his 24th birthday. After completing his 2019 season, Alcántara traveled to the Dominican Republic to deliver the equipment directly to the children.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alcantara, Sandy 1995 births Living people Cy Young Award winners Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Summer League Cardinals players Gigantes del Cibao players Gulf Coast Cardinals players Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball pitchers Miami Marlins players National League All-Stars New Orleans Baby Cakes players Palm Beach Cardinals players Peoria Chiefs players Springfield Cardinals players St. Louis Cardinals players Surprise Saguaros players