Marlins’ Sanchez eager to test himself against more left-handed pitching
Last season, in a sense, was a prove-it year for Jesus Sanchez. Because he was out of minor-league options, the left-handedhitting outfielder had one final shot to show he could be a full-time contributor for the Marlins.
And Sanchez stepped up.
He made the club out of spring training and, while there were hiccups along the way, Sanchez played a career-high 125 games while setting single-season highs in average (.253), on-base percentage (.327), doubles (23), RBI (52) and runs scored (43) while also tying a career high in home runs (14).
“I had confidence that I could go out on the field and perform,” said Sanchez, 26.
“That was the most important thing and what I would say helped me out last season.”
That confidence has carried over into spring training. He has a newfound swagger in the clubhouse. He’s not worrying about what happened in the past or what might happen down the road.
“Last season, I had some ups and downs with regards to my emotions,” Sanchez said. “I practiced and focused on staying calm, staying in the moment. I think if I’m able to do that, I’ll be successful.”
There is a lot of success for Sanchez to build upon from last season.
According to Statcast, he ranked among the top quarter of qualified hitters in a slew of categories, including expected slugging (.478, 80th percentile), hard-hit rate (46.3 percent, 77th percentile), expected batting average (.269, 75th percentile) and barrel rate (12.2 percent, 79th percentile).
Defensively, Sanchez had four defensive runs saved in right field according to FanGraphs. That tied for the fifth most among 18 players who played at least 750 innings in right field last season.
“He’s gonna be a middle-of-the-order type of bat depending on what the lineup looks like,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “If he’s in the six or seven hole, that’s a really good lineup, especially against righties.”
The one key area where Sanchez needs to improve is producing against lefthanded pitching. For his career he has hit just .201 with a .559 on-base-plusslugging mark and 70 strikeouts in 188 plate appearances against lefties. He had just 50 plate appearances against lefties last season (among
402 plate appearances overall).
“Honestly, if I get to see more lefty [pitching] I think that I could do a little bit better,” Sanchez said. “I think that I’m good against lefty [pitching]. It’s all about being able to have that confidence out there, seeing more lefty pitchers, seeing their pitches, and I think that that will give me better results.”
For the Marlins’ part, it sounds like Sanchez will get that opportunity, with Schumaker saying he is looking forward to Sanchez being in the lineup “most days.”
In addition to Sanchez, the manager’s options in right are Avisail Garcia, Nick Gordon and Vidal Brujan.
“[Sanchez] had a great year last year and he played a really good right field,” Schumaker said. “I don’t know if it’s a platoon. I don’t know if he works himself into [an] everyday [role]. I think that’s up to the player and the opportunity he’s given and what he does with it.”