Gary Sanchez News

Gary Sanchez

26-Year-Old CatcherC

New York Yankees

2019 Stats

AVG

.232

RBI

Rest-of-Season Projections

AVG

RBI

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2019 Fantasy Outlook

Raise your hand if you were surprised Sanchez has had a balky left shoulder since 2017. He finally underwent a debridement procedure in November to clean up the tissue causing irritation. There's no telling how this affected Sanchez last season, but his .186/.291/.406 line was shocking in light of what he did the previous two campaigns. Sanchez's defense also suffered with a league-leading 18 passed balls, despite only 76 games behind the dish. He had two DL stints after straining then aggravating his groin. Aside from the likely impact of the assorted injuries, Sanchez hit into some seriously bad luck. His Statcast data, specifically exit velocity and barrels, were nearly identical to 2017, with decidedly poorer results. His .304 wOBA was nearly 40 points below his expected .343 mark. There's some added injury risk, but Sanchez is arguably the same guy he was this time last year when he was the consensus top backstop, a top-40 overall player. Read Past Outlooks

RANKSFrom Preseason

#54

ADP

Overall

Catcher

Add To Watchlist

League Majors

Bats R

Throws R

40 Man Yes

Height 6'2"

Weight 230

DOB 12/2/1992

Born Santo Domingo, DR

College None

Drafted 2009 NYY

Sitting Saturday

CNew York Yankees

September 28, 2019

Sanchez is not in Saturday's lineup against the Rangers, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports.

ANALYSIS
He went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts Friday in his first game back from a groin injury. Austin Romine is starting behind the dish and hitting eighth.

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Batting Stats

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Minor League Game Log

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Batting Order Slot Breakdown

vs Right-Handed Pitchers

vs RHP

vs Left-Handed Pitchers

vs LHP

Left/Right Batting Splits

Since 2017

+4%

OPS vs LHP

2019

+14%

OPS vs RHP

2018

+37%

OPS vs LHP

2017

+1%

OPS vs LHP

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2017vs Left	.839	330	49	21	57	0	.233	.333	.505
Since 2017vs Right	.808	1015	143	64	163	3	.239	.316	.492
2019vs Left	.759	108	15	7	14	0	.200	.296	.463
2019vs Right	.867	338	47	27	63	0	.243	.322	.545
2018vs Left	.872	99	16	6	20	0	.229	.354	.518
2018vs Right	.636	275	35	12	33	1	.171	.269	.367
2017vs Left	.882	123	18	8	23	0	.266	.350	.532
2017vs Right	.874	402	61	25	67	2	.282	.343	.530
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Home/Away Batting Splits

Since 2017

+5%

OPS at Home

2019

+34%

OPS at Home

2018

+16%

OPS on Road

2017

+3%

OPS on Road

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2017Home	.837	647	95	42	102	1	.253	.325	.512
Since 2017Away	.795	698	97	43	118	2	.224	.317	.479
2019Home	.972	206	30	19	34	0	.276	.345	.627
2019Away	.728	240	32	15	43	0	.194	.292	.436
2018Home	.647	190	23	8	26	0	.179	.295	.352
2018Away	.748	184	28	10	27	1	.193	.288	.460
2017Home	.863	251	42	15	42	1	.286	.331	.532
2017Away	.887	274	37	18	48	1	.271	.358	.529
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Stat Review

How does Gary Sanchez compare to other hitters?

This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.

BB/K
Walk to strikeout ratio
BB Rate
The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
K Rate
The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
BABIP
Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
ISO
Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
AVG
Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
OBP
On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
SLG
Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
OPS
On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
wOBA
Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
Exit Velocity
The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
Hard Hit Rate
A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
Barrels/PA
The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.

BB/K

0.32

BB Rate

9.0%

K Rate

28.0%

BABIP

.244

ISO

.293

AVG

.232

OBP

.316

SLG

.525

OPS

.841

wOBA

.362

Exit Velocity

91.3 mph

Hard Hit Rate

42.0%

Barrels/PA

11.6%

Advanced Batting Stats

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Additional Stats

Games By Position

Defensive Stats

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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers

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Yankees Depth Chart

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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Gary Sanchez

Games Played By Position: 2020 Eligibility Notes

Yesterday

Clay Link looks at appearances by position and makes note of multi-position eligibility and lost eligibility for 2020.

DraftKings MLB: Tuesday Picks

2 days ago

Adam Zdroik delivers his DraftKings insights for both Championship Series on Tuesday.

FanDuel MLB: Saturday Breakdown

12 days ago

Chris Bennett analyzes the Saturday FanDuel slate as Gerrit Cole looks to pound the Rays in Game 2 of the ALDS.

FanDuel MLB: Friday Playoff Breakdown

13 days ago

Adam Zdroik tees up Friday’s playoff slate, providing his picks for a winning FanDuel lineup.

Postseason Cheatsheet

14 days ago

Jeff Erickson's quick postseason ranks.

Past Fantasy Outlooks

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

Coming off one of the most spectacular debuts, especially for a catcher, projecting Sanchez's power for 2017 was a challenge. As it turned out, using his MLEs (major league equivalencies) did the trick nicely. Sanchez's 40 percent HR/FB mark from 2016 fell to a still outstanding, but more sustainable 25 percent. If there was a downside to Sanchez's 2017 season, it was tying Yasmani Grandal for the league lead with 18 passed balls. However, blocking pitches is down on a receiver's list of skills and Sanchez fared much better with the more important framing and throwing metrics. Still, with a new skipper in the Bronx, Sanchez's high passed ball total, along with his well-publicized woes with throws to the plate in the playoffs, could result in him seeing more time at designated hitter. Fortunately, for fantasy owners, that's a good thing, assuming he still catches 20 games, which he should. Sanchez is the clear top fantasy backstop and a top-30 overall player. Drafting him in the early rounds is more a question of strategy than valuation.

Well that's one way to make an entrance. Despite playing just one game in the majors before Aug. 3, Sanchez played his way into Rookie of the Year contention with one of the best 50-game stretches to begin a career of all time. The catcher hit 11 home runs in a 15-game span and ended with 20 homers and 42 RBI -- absurd numbers considering he played in just 53 contests. Though he seemed to run out of steam a bit at the end, hitting just .222 in September while striking out in more than one-third of his at-bats, the rookie still finished with a 1.032 OPS. It's highly unlikely his 60-homer pace will be sustainable over the course of a full season, but Sanchez will immediately jump toward the top of the list among the best -- if not the best -- offensive catchers next season, when he'll be just 24 years old.

Sanchez has long been looked at as a top prospect, yet he'll be turning just 23 over the offseason and could finally be inching closer to getting his first real test in the majors. The catcher made his first appearance at the Triple-A level after a midseason promotion and posted impressive numbers in 35 games, bouncing back after a disappointing 2014 campaign. His prospect rating fell a bit after a steady decline in the power department, but Sanchez tied a career high with 18 long balls across both Double-A and Triple-A. With the offseason trade of John Ryan Murphy, there is now an opening for the major league backup job, a position for which Sanchez will likely compete with Austin Romine in spring training.

Sanchez feels like he has been on the prospect landscape forever. Yet, he will only be 22 years old when he presumably gets his first taste of Triple-A at some point in the 2015 season. That said, 2014 can only be described as a disappointment for the former top prospect in the Yankees’ system. He hit 13 home runs with a .270/.338/.406 slash line in 110 games at Double-A Trenton. To put that in perspective, former pseudo catching prospect for the Yankees and current bust with the Mariners, Jesus Montero, hit .317/.370/.539 with nine home runs in 44 games at Double-A Trenton as a 19-year-old in 2009. For a player who probably won’t be able to stick at catcher, Sanchez isn’t hitting enough to be an average first baseman or designated hitter. He still has enough raw power to keep him on the map, but he is now a fringe top-5 prospect in the system.

Sanchez is likely the Yankees' No. 1 prospect again thanks in part to a disappointing 2013 season from Mason Williams. He's shown good power throughout his minor league career and held his own in a 23-game stint with Double-A Trenton late in 2013. It seems unlikely that Sanchez will stick behind the plate, and he still needs to develop more discipline as a hitter, but there's a ton of upside in his bat, even if he ends up as a first baseman. The Yankees will have more time to sort out their plan with Sanchez after signing Brian McCann to a long-term deal during the offseason.

Sanchez seemed to put the attitude issues that plagued him in 2011 behind him, and put together a very solid season in 2012, hitting .290 with 18 homers across two levels. Sanchez has huge raw power that is starting to show in games, and while he needs to make a few mechanical adjustments to make his swing more efficient, the hit tool definitely appears to be there. Behind the plate, Sanchez has a good arm, but he's not terribly agile and it's still an open question as to whether he'll stick at catcher for the long term. Sanchez is still young for the level he's playing at, and regardless of whether he stays at catcher or not, he should be an impact bat in the majors with an ETA of 2015.

Sanchez came into the season at Low-A Charleston with very high expectations, and when he got off to a slow start, Sanchez was sent back to Tampa in early June to get his mind right. He was a different player after returning to Charleston, putting up seven homers in a nine-game stretch in late July through early August, and twice winning South Atlantic League Player of the Week honors. Sanchez shows fantastic power, but continues to struggle with his defense, though he has an excellent arm behind the plate. Sanchez remains a top-50 prospect on most lists, and 2012 will be a key year in his development as he faces more advanced pitching at High-A and demonstrates whether he'll be able to remain behind the plate. He's got the hitting tools to be worth picking up in your minor league draft regardless of where he ends up playing, though.

Despite not turning 18 until after the season, Sanchez hit .329/.393/.543 between the rookie league Yankees and short-season Staten Island. He obviously still needs a lot of development, but he has the physical tools to be a good backstop, and scouts believe he has above-average power to all fields. Add his name to the impressive array of minor league catching talent the Yankees have assembled.

More Fantasy News

Back in action

CNew York Yankees

September 27, 2019

Sanchez (groin) is back in the lineup as expected Friday against the Rangers, Erik Boland of Newsday reports.

ANALYSIS
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Set to return Friday

CNew York Yankees

Groin

September 27, 2019

Sanchez (groin) is expected to start Friday's game against the Rangers and catch four or five innings, Brendan Kuty of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

ANALYSIS
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Takes BP

CNew York Yankees

Groin

September 24, 2019

Sanchez (groin) took batting practice Monday, George A. King III of the New York Post reports.

ANALYSIS
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Back next weekend?

CNew York Yankees

Groin

September 21, 2019

Manager Aaron Boone said Saturday that Sanchez could maybe play at some point during the Yankees' series in Texas next weekend, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

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Ramping up activity

CNew York Yankees

Groin

September 21, 2019

Sanchez (groin) has been doing a little running and throwing and is scheduled to hit off a tee in the cage Saturday, Meredith Marakovits of YES Network reports.

ANALYSIS
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