Sanchez secures Pitcher of the Week honor
As one of the top arms in the Minor Leagues, Sixto Sanchez has a chance to dominate every time he takes the ball. That's exactly what the Phillies' No. 1 prospect did Sunday for Class A Advanced Clearwater, tossing seven shutout innings with five strikeouts in the first game of
As one of the top arms in the Minor Leagues,
That's exactly what the Phillies' No. 1 prospect did Sunday for Class A Advanced Clearwater, tossing seven shutout innings with five strikeouts in the first game of a doubleheader sweep for the Threshers. Sanchez rode the performance to a Florida State League Pitcher of the Week award.
MLB.com's No. 24 overall prospect allowed only four baserunners during his outing, erasing two of them via double plays in his final two innings. Sanchez needed just 72 pitches -- including 56 strikes -- to go the distance.
• View the Offensive Player of the Week winners »
An inconsistent start to the season left Sanchez with a 4.71 ERA on May 5. Following Sunday, that number sits at 2.51. The right-hander has allowed two earned runs over his last six starts (25 2/3 innings). Clearwater pitching coach Aaron Fultz credited this recent success to the development of Sanchez's slider as an effective way to keep hitters off-balance.
"I think it's a product of them not being able to sit on one pitch," Fulz told MiLB.com. "They're not able to sit on the fastball like they were in the past. Now they react instead."
This isn't the first weekly award of the 19-year-old's career. He won South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week honors with Class A Lakewood last season.
"The only bad thing is that it means I may lose him soon," Fultz lamented. "I don't know if we have plans to move him anytime. If he throws like he does in the last couple, he's going to need a new challenge."
Below is the complete list of Pitcher of the Week winners for May 28 to June 3. Honorees include Cleveland prospect
League | Player | Team | MLB | Stats |
---|---|---|---|---|
International | Adam Plutko | Columbus | CLE | 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 1 SHO, 9 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K |
Pacific Coast | Conner Menez | Sacramento | SF | 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 HBP, 1 BB, 8 K |
Eastern | Nabil Crismatt | Binghamton | NYM | 2-0, 1.26 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 1 CG, 14 1/3 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 HBP, 6 BB, 9 K |
Southern | Matt Tomshaw | Birmingham | CWS | 1-1, 0.56 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 1 CG, 16 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 12 K |
Texas | Logan Allen and Jason Jester | San Antonio | SD | Allen: 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 7 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 7 K; Jester: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 0 GS, 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K |
California | Brian Howard | Stockton | OAK | 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 5 1/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 K |
Carolina | Jonathan Hernandez | Down East | TEX | 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 8 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 11 K |
Florida State | Sixto Sanchez | Clearwater | PHI | 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 1 SHO, 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K |
Midwest | Zack Draper | Lake County | CLE | 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K |
South Atlantic | Will Stewart | Lakewood | PHI | 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 1 SHO, 9 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 K |
Chris Bumbaca is a contributor for MiLB.com based in New York. Follow him on Twitter @BOOMbaca.