Gary Sanchez is one of the top prospects in the Yankee system, almost entirely because of his hitting prowess. Sanchez’s profile as a prospect is very comparable to that of Jesus Montero: an offense-first catcher with the potential to hit for power and average in the long-term, but major question marks about their ability to remain at the position.
Unlike Montero, who many believed was simply too big for the position, it is a little easier to project the 6’2″ 220 Sanchez as physically being able to handle the position. Montero’s slow windup and release made catching attempted basestealers a difficult feat (usually hovering around 20%), whereas Sanchez has been relatively successful at throwing out runners (31% last year, 28% so far this year).
Receiving pitches has historically been an issue for Sanchez, and the statistics back that assertion up. In 2011, Sanchez allowed a whopping 26 passed balls in 60 games behind the plate, and there were rumors that he stopped calling breaking pitches because he had difficulty blocking them, and did not want to inflate the passed ball total any further.
It wasn’t clear whether the passed balls were due to a physical issue, a technique issue, a lack of focus, or some combination thereof, but it is worthy of note that the passed ball rate dropped dramatically after Sanchez returned from his suspension. Sanchez has gotten off to a good start in that department in 2012, only committing 1 passed ball in 12 games so far.
This year, we have had the good fortune to have some early reports on Sanchez’s defense. ESPN’s Keith Law and Fangraphs’ Mike Newman both saw Sanchez recently, and saw some progress in his work behind the plate, but still plenty of room for improvement.
Newman, who also provided some nice video in his report, was mixed on what he saw from Sanchez. He was impressed with Sanchez’s catch-and-throw skills, clocking him at above the major league average in the speed of his release, and saw him make some nice, accurate throws to second. However, Newman noticed that Sanchez still struggled somewhat with his receiving, especially in the area of pitch-framing (an area of catcher defense which has recently been quantified). Newman attributes part of Sanchez’s receiving problems to his very low crouch, wondering if it limits his agility behind the plate. He also questions whether further growth by the 19-year-old Sanchez could exacerbate his receiving problems.
Keith Law, who has consistently been pretty bearish on Sanchez’s defense, had a more positive outlook (insider-only). Law saw Sanchez’s defense as a “pleasant surprise…substantially improved over where he was last year.” He didn’t observe Sanchez having any particular difficulty receiving on that day, and saw him show impressive arm strength and above-average pop times.
While these reports conflict somewhat, that doesn’t mean that we should adhere to one and junk the other. Neither of these guys has seen a whole lot of Sanchez this year (one game for Law, and probably several for Newman), and some variation in Sanchez’s performance could be expected, depending on who is on the mound, the opposing team, etc. Sanchez probably still has receiving issues, as Newman observed, but there could be days when they are less of a factor (as Law observed).
The passed ball problem seems to be solved, at least based on what we’ve seen from Sanchez so far this season. His throwing skills also seem like they should be at least adequate at the big league level. What he needs to work on at this stage, based on the current reports, is continuing to refine his receiving so he is softer with his hands behind the plate, and more adept at framing pitches rather than stabbing at them. Although there may be some physical limitations, these seem like areas where improvement can come from experience and hard work, if Sanchez is willing to put in the effort. There is still a lot of work to be done if Sanchez is going to be able to stick at catcher in the bigs, but if he can, his bat could make him a legitimate star.
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Actually, Newman has only watch Sanchez once. He went to a couple of games, and Gary didn’t play in any of them
Ah, right. Newman might have seen him DH once, and it’s possible he has seen him catch since his writeup.
I saw the Riverdogs play last Thursday in a weird windy rain filled game, where they had 4 errors and gave up 6 runs in the first 3 innings, only to come back and win 9-8. I’m not an expert by any means, but I thought Sanchez looked good. With the bad weather, I was expecting a lot of passed balls, and slow releases, but didn’t see either. There was no lack of off speed pitches. There was one stolen base where he sort of double clutched on his throw.
Cool, thanks for the info. I think Law mentioned something about Sanchez double-clutching, perhaps because he didn’t have a good grip on the ball.
I truly believe in work ethic being the difference for elite talents. Sanchez had issues as an 19 year old. That means less than nothing about his work going forward. Im still high high High on Sanchez + pineda +campos making us not regret the Montero trade at all bu 2015
Without a doubt, work ethic is a vital component of future success. It must be incredibly hard to ascertain work ethic when teams are signing these kids at 16 (or even drafting them at 18).
I’m hopeful for that trio as well, as Sanchez and Campos are showing very promising signs. The Pineda situation has been a little worrisome, but hopefully we’ll get some clarification on that tomorrow or soon after.
First, a general comment about Newman’s video: you simply can’t tell anything about a catcher’s ability based on video that only shows the catcher and doesn’t show the pitch location. Some video from behind the plate would’ve been more instructive and telling.
Second, I noted a few things in Sanchez from the video that were mildly alarming. His right hand was never protected, as he kept it on his right knee, most likely in order to improve the speed of his transfer-and-throw. That’s the fastest way to break a finger or wrist. Additionally, he seems to set up with his weight too far forward, meaning he lacks balance in his crouch and will have issues blocking pitches that require lateral movement. Most importantly, the lack of proper weight distribution in his crouch can lead to a lack of stability in his receiving hand, potentially resulting in plus velocity moving his hand and affecting his ability to frame pitches.
To me, it looks like Sanchez still has a ways to go defensively. None of this is uncorrectable but it will take focus and dedication on his part — and diligence on the coaching staff’s part — to break these little habits that are often borne of laziness or a lack of attention to detail.
And before anyone jumps down my throat, I didn’t call Sanchez lazy, I simply said that bad habits are easy to get to because they “feel” better. Even the most dedicated guys like Cal Ripken took some shortcuts on fundamentals. To repeat, I’m not calling Sanchez a lazy person.
MJ,
You make excellent points in terms of fundamentals and things he’s doing behind the dish, but I have to disagree with your comment that one can tell nothing from the video about the catcher’s ability. I’ve literally received close up shots of prospects from contacts which focus on the mitt to tell whether a catcher is sticking pitches or receiving properly. Be careful to not discount great points by over-generalizing.