Gaby Sanchez

Sanchez batted .254/.361/.402 in 254 at-bats as part of a first-base platoon in 2013, adding seven home runs and 36 RBI. He fashioned an impressive .987 OPS against left-handed pitchers in 102 at-bats, but struggled against righties (.619 OPS in 162 at-bats). With a 44:51 BB:K ratio, Sanchez showed good plate discipline. His best bet for fantasy owners might be in daily leagues, where teams can plug him into lineups against southpaws. The 30-year-old has never duplicated his 2011 first-half, when he was named to the NL All-Star squad, and his time in Pittsburgh might be running out. If the team upgrades at first base, Sanchez could be looking at little more than a bench role in 2014.

Barring trades, Sanchez looks to fill the right-handed portion of a first base platoon with Garrett Jones in 2013. Last year he fell out of favor with a .202 batting average in Miami before getting demoted to Triple-A. There he rebuilt his trade value by hitting .302, well enough to garner Pittsburgh's attention in a trade. Pittsburgh bit on the former Marlin, who hit .241/.323/.397 with four homers in 116 at-bats for the Bucs. The jury is still out on Sanchez. He'll get plenty of chances considering the team gave up its lottery pick, in part, for him. Whether he can recapture the level of play he showed as a 2011 All-Star remains to be seen.

Sanchez roared out of the gate last year but slipped badly in the second half, and his final numbers were nearly identical to his 2010 output with an uptick in his walk rate being the only sign of progress. While there's something to be said for consistency, he's already 28, and there's no reason to think that he's going to suddenly find another gear. Much like the Marlins' own offseason pursuit of Albert Pujols, Sanchez is the guy you settle for on your fantasy squad when you go after a bigger prize and miss. Consider him a serviceable option if you playing the waiting game at first base, but his .269/.346/.440 career line sets the expectations appropriately.

Sanchez finally got his shot last year and put up exactly the kind of season his minor league numbers predicted, showing moderate power and on-base skills. He's just coming into his prime and likely hasn't yet hit his ceiling, but that ceiling still appears to be pretty low for a first baseman. If the Marlins pull the plug on the Logan-Morrison-in-left-field experiment, it's Sanchez who will get pushed aside. He can provide some cheap production, but don't get too invested.

Sanchez headed into spring training last season with a chance to win the starting first base job, but a knee injury and the Marlins' infatuation with Emilio Bonifacio's speed cost him his shot. He put together another solid season with the stick in the minors, but there's a real question as to whether he'll hit enough in the majors to be valuable at first base, and his window is closing rapidly anyway with Logan Morrison behind him in the system. It's probably now or never for Sanchez to prove he belongs in Florida, and if we had to bet we'd say the odds slightly favor never.

Sanchez put together a very good campaign at Double-A, showing promise in just about every aspect of the game without necessarily excelling in any of them. He'll be 25 on Opening Day so the future is very much now for him, and the Marlins seem to agree as they dealt away Mike Jacobs to open up first base for Sanchez. They'll take the loss of Jacobs' home runs so long as the rookie gets on base at a much better clip than Jacobs' sub-.300 outfest, but if he struggles early the team has other options available to them, and Logan Morrison lurks below him on the depth chart as a potentially better version of the same kind of hitter. It very much could be now or never for Sanchez.