The Sinker Sensation! Phillies Pitcher’s Improved Sinker Put Him on Fast Track to Stardom
The Philadelphia Phillies have put together one of the best starting rotations in baseball heading into the 2025 season. It is going to be what ultimately determines their fate as it will be the backbone of their success.
Anchoring the staff is Zack Wheeler, who finished second in the National League Cy Young Award race last year behind Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves. In the No. 2 spot is Aaron Nola, as reliable of a workhorse as there is.
Behind those two is All-Star Ranger Suarez, who will be motivated in 2025 as he prepares for free agency. The team’s new No. 5 starter is Jesus Luzardo, who was acquired in a trade from the Miami Marlins this past offseason.
At some point during the summer, their top prospect Andrew Painter will join the mix as well.
However, the player who has a chance to push this rotation ahead of others in the running as the best in the sport is Cristopher Sanchez.
He had a coming out party in 2024, making the All-Star team for the first time in his career and making strides across the board.
Not an overpowering pitcher, he relied on excellent control and limiting hard contact to find success. Across 31 starts and 181.2 innings, he had a 3.32 ERA and even more impressive 3.00 FIP.
With only 153 strikeouts, his strikeout rate of 20.3% was well below average. But he more than made up for it with a 5.8% walk rate, 86.6 mph average exit velocity and 34.5% hard hit rate. An elite 57.1% ground ball rate helps as well.
What helped Sanchez take his game to the next level over the last few years has been his changeup. In 2024, that pitch accounted for 91 strikeouts, the most in baseball.
What is the talented lefty going to do for an encore in 2025?
A massive breakout could be in store with the improvements that he is making to his sinker, which has seen another uptick in velocity this spring.
“Sanchez, a pitcher constantly refining his pitch repertoire, has most notably seen his sinker go from a 92.1 mph average velocity in 2023, to 94.5 in 2024, to 96.9 in the two of those starts measured by Statcast. He’ll take a big leap forward if that fuels even a hint of a higher whiff rate with the pitch,” wrote Tristan H. Cockcraft of ESPN.
He has been excellent in Grapefruit League games, charged with only two earned runs on five hits and one walk in 7.2 innings. The most impressive part of his production is the strikeouts, as he has fanned 12 out of the 30 batters he has faced.
If that increase in velocity and strikeout improvement carries over in the regular season, Sanchez is not only going to be in All-Star consideration again but become one of the most recognizable pitchers in the sport.
