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

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the Rieleros de Aguascalientes of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

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 Municipalities of the Dominican Republic, municipal (''municipio'') capital of the San Cristóbal Province, San Cristóbal province. The municipality is located in a ...

. He played shortstop as a youth.

Career

Philadelphia Phillies

The

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

happened upon Sánchez when they saw him throwing

batting practice This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. 0–9 0 :"Oh and ..." See #count, coun ...

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 or manager 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 a contract at present ...

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 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. 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 low ...

in wins) with an 0.50 ERA, a

WHIP A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

of 0.759, and a 5.50 strikeout-to-walk ratio. At 17 years of age, his

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

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

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...

'' 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 Single–A Lakewood BlueClaws, and was promoted to the High–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 20 ...

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 h ...

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. 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 in the Milwaukee Brewers organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Miami Marlins, San Diego ...

, Will Stewart, 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. 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 High–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 in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home games at Roger Dean ...

he was 8-6 with a 2.76 ERA in 20 starts (114 innings). On November 20, 2019, the Marlins added Sánchez to their 40–man roster to protect him from the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. On August 20, 2020, Sánchez was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. 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, 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 best known for being the chief vocalist, Flute, flautist, and acoustic guitarist of the British rock band Jethro Tull (band), Jethro Tull. He is a multi-instrumentalist who also p ...

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 j ...

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 Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp to begin the 2023 season. However, he only appeared in one rehab game for the Double–A

Pensacola Blue Wahoos The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League (1964–present), Southern League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are based in Pensacola, Florida, and play their home ga ...

in September, and did not pitch in another game on the year. On March 22, 2024, manager Skip Schumaker announced that Sánchez had made Miami's

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

roster. In 14 games for Miami, he posted an 0–3 record and 6.06 ERA with 17 strikeouts across innings pitched. Sánchez was placed on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation on June 2, and transferred to the 60–day injured list on June 25. On November 4, Sánchez was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to Jacksonville, but he rejected the assignment and elected free agency.

Rieleros de Aguascalientes

On February 26, 2025, Sánchez signed with the Rieleros de Aguascalientes of the

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanchez, Sixto 1998 births Living people Baseball players from San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic 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 21st-century Dominican Republic sportsmen Miami Marlins players Pensacola Blue Wahoos players