Spring Training Daily: ST Daily: Sanchez Starting
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Over 80 percent of Aaron Sanchez’s 65 appearances at the major league level have come as a reliever, but the 23-year-old hasn’t hidden his preference to start. He’s going to get that chance.
On Monday, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons announced that Sanchez had edged out Gavin Floyd to capture the No. 5 spot in the rotation. Sanchez earned the gig with a fantastic showing this spring that included a 1.35 ERA and 19/3 K/BB ratio across 20 innings.
The young right-hander’s performance thus far in the majors has been a mixed bag. He’s put up a 3.22 ERA and allowed just 88 hits over 125 1/3 innings, but Sanchez has also registered a disappointing 88/53 K/BB ratio, including a 42/37 K/BB ratio over 66 frames as a starter.
Sanchez is a former top-50 prospect who sits regularly in the mid-90s with his heater and gets a bunch of groundballs. However, the inadequate K/BB ratio unfortunately isn’t new. In 102 1/3 combined frames at Double- and Triple-A, his K/BB ratio was 88/62.
What also needs to be heavily considered with Sanchez is a potentially strict innings limit. The right-hander could eventually be put back in the bullpen in the second half in order to keep his workload in check.
“We’ll keep an eye on that,” Gibbons said of Sanchez’s innings. “There’s a good chance he won’t be in the rotation all year. We won’t lay out what the actual plan is, but we have to be smart. If you increase it too much, it’s probably harmful. And if, in the end, we need him down in the bullpen, we’re that much stronger down there, too. It’s not one of those things where he’s not going to pitch this year, we’ll stop him, like what happened in another place a few years ago. He’ll be here pitching.”
Sanchez’s stuff pops when you watch him, and he has the pedigree of a former top prospect. A breakout season certainly wouldn’t be a shocker. But, the inconsistent command, lack of whiffs and innings limit mean you probably shouldn’t go overboard in fantasy leagues.
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Phils Turn to Velasquez
Sanchez wasn’t the only talented young right-hander to be awarded a rotation spot Monday, as Phillies manager Pete Mackanin revealed that Vincent Velasquez had beaten out Adam Morgan for Philadelphia’s fifth spot. Mackanin’s reasoning for picking Velasquez over Morgan was simple, and it’s the reason he’s so intriguing for fantasy owners.
“We like Velasquez’s power arm,” Mackanin said. “We want to see him in the big leagues.”
Acquired over the offseason from the Astros in the Ken Giles trade, Velasquez is unlike Sanchez in that he has not had trouble missing bats. The 23-year-old struck out 58 over 55 2/3 innings last season with Houston, and that was after putting up a monster 10.8 K/9 rate in the minors. Velasquez has also had swing-and-miss stuff during Grapefruit League play, posting a 24/7 K/BB ratio across 20 frames to go along with a 2.25 ERA.
Perhaps the biggest issue with Velasquez has been his lack of durability. He had a lengthy recovery from Tommy John surgery a few years ago and has also battled groin and lat ailments. The righty has never even made 20 starts in a season and his career high of 124 2/3 innings was reached in 2013. Last year he totaled just 88 2/3 frames. The Phillies haven’t revealed a potential innings limit for Velasquez, but it seems unlikely that he’ll be allowed to go much past 150 innings.
“That’s a good question,” Mackanin said. “We’re going to find out. We need to find that out as soon as possible. We’re building toward the future and it’s important for us to get him going and see exactly what we’ve got there.”
The workload concerns are certainly real, and Velasquez doesn’t figure to pile up many wins on the Phillies. However, the young hurler looks like a guy who is going to get strikeouts right away. He’s a fine target in the later rounds of mixed leagues.
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DeSclafani Battling Oblique Injury
The Reds had intended for Anthony DeSclafani to be their Opening Day starter, but injury is going to keep that from happening. The right-hander is dealing with a strained left oblique and will miss at least his first turn through the rotation.
“The start before my last, I felt it a little bit, but then this past start, it just got a little worse and I decided to take it easy,” DeSclafani said. “It was definitely tolerable, but it got worse and worse and then I think it gets to the point where you have to be smart as a player to let people know and take more of a cautious side, because I want to pitch all year. Obviously, it would have been awesome to pitch Opening Day and all of that, but you don’t want to mess with obliques.”
The Reds are hopeful that DeSclafani will be ready to pitch on April 10 when they first need a fifth starter. That’s no guarantee, however, given the often fickle nature of obliques.
“[That] will allow us to go through a short throwing progression and long toss and then be able to throw a simulated game in Cincinnati and [be] ready to go on the 10th,” manager Bryan Price said. “With the therapy and things of that nature, there was no reason to think that he couldn’t pitch by the 10th. However, we all know that if it’s exacerbated, it could be a much longer period of time. It’s between a rock and a hard place. We need a starter and we don’t want to create a bad situation.”
Replacing DeSclafani as the Reds’ Opening Day starter will be Raisel Iglesias. The choice isn’t surprising from one perspective in that he’s arguably the club’s most talented starter. However, Iglesias is almost surely going to face an innings restriction this season after tossing a career-high 124 1/3 frames in 2015. Cincy will have to give Iglesias extra rest and/or skip him on occasion this season, although that should be easier to do once Homer Bailey (elbow) and John Lamb (back) are healthy.
Brandon Finnegan will start the second game of the season for the Reds and Alfredo Simon will start the fourth game. Price mentioned Robert Stephenson as a possibility for the No. 3 spot, although he was knocked around in a starter Monday and holds a 9.58 ERA this spring. Another option is non-roster invitee Tim Melville. Jon Moscot could eventually grab a spot once he’s stretched out enough after recovering from an intercostals strain.
Quick Hits: Matt Harvey’s status for Opening Day is in question due to an undisclosed health issue. The Mets aren’t offering details other than to say that Harvey’s pitching arm is fine … Astros manager A.J. Hinch said Monday that he was not ready to name a closer yet … The Diamondbacks have named Robbie Ray their No. 5 starter … The Mariners have chosen Nate Karns as their fifth starter over James Paxton … Tyler White has been informed that he’d made the Astros’ Opening Day roster and the anticipation is that he’ll get the bulk of the playing time at first base … Matt Shoemaker will open the season as the Angels’ fifth starter after Nick Tropeano was optioned to Triple-A Monday … The Padres acquired Dan Straily from the Astros in exchange for Erik Kratz … Lonnie Chisenhall was placed on the disabled list with a right forearm injury … Yasmani Grandal (forearm) took dry swings and threw the ball back to the pitcher while catching a bullpen session on Monday … Hyun-Jin Ryu (shoulder) is on track to throw live batting practice next week … Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has reported that the Padres are scouting Pablo Sandoval. Sandoval is slated to return to Grapefruit League action on Tuesday after missing time with a back injury … Corey Seager (knee) played six innings in a minor league game again on Monday … The Twins released Carlos Quentin on Monday and the expectation is that he will re-retire … A.J. Griffin is the favorite for the fifth spot in the Rangers’ rotation … The Red Sox released David Murphy on Monday … Jung Ho Kang (knee) played five innings of third base Monday in a minor league game … The Blue Jays claimed Jesus Montero off waivers from the Mariners … The Phillies signed the recently released Will Venable to a minor league deal … The Braves released Nick Swisher … Chris Tillman will start for the Orioles on Opening Day …
