Marlins promoting Sixto, Jesús Sánchez for debuts

The Marlins have made 80 transactions since their season began on July 24. Perhaps none of them were as highly anticipated as the 81st.

Miami will reportedly call up both No. 24 overall prospect Sixto Sánchez and No. 88 overall prospect Jesús Sánchez for their Major League debuts. Sixto Sánchez, a hard-throwing right-hander, is likely to start during the Marlins’ upcoming series in Washington. Jesus Sánchez would add pop to an outfield unit that has slugged just .299 this season. The promotions were first reported by Jon Heyman.

Both players are 22 years old and came to the Marlins’ system in trades. Sixto Sánchez was the centerpiece of the February 2019 deal that sent catcher J.T. Realmuto to the Phillies. Jesús Sánchez arrived from the Rays organization at the deadline that summer in a move that sent right-handers Nick Anderson and Trevor Richards to Tampa Bay.

Sixto Sánchez signed with Philadelphia for $35,000 in 2015 and the right-hander quickly shined. The top Marlins prospect posted a circuit-best 0.50 ERA in 54 Rookie-level Gulf Coast League innings in 2016. He climbed to Class A Advanced Clearwater by the end of 2017 and posted 2.51 ERA at that level in 2018. But that came in just 46 2/3 innings as elbow inflammation limited the Dominican Republic native to eight starts. Just before the start of Spring Training 2019, the Phillies sent their top pitching prospect to their division rival.

Though Realmuto is one of the best catchers in baseball, Sixto Sánchez has made the deal look like a win for both sides. He bounced back from his injury-shortened 2018 to throw a career-high 114 innings last season, almost all of which were at Double-A Jacksonville. Sixto Sánchez recorded a 2.53 ERA, 2.69 FIP, 23.6 percent strikeout rate and 4.6 percent walk rate for the Jumbo Shrimp. More recently, the 2019 All-Star Futures Game attendee has put up triple-digit velocity at the Marlins’ alternate training site in Jupiter, Florida.

Jesús Sánchez inked a $400,000 deal with Tampa during the 2014 international signing period and thrived early. He never posted an OPS below .826 in his first three professional seasons, then reached Double-A at age 20 in 2018. But career-low numbers -- a .206/.282/.317 line in a small 18-game sample at Triple-A Durham in 2019 -- had him on the move. He fared better in 17 post-trade games with Miami’s Triple-A affiliate to close last season, hitting .246/.338/.446.