Miami Marlins Top 10 Prospects

Rapidly improving system buttressed by key trades and bountiful 2019 draft

- Kegan Lowe

1. SIXTO SANCHEZ, RHP

AGE: 21. B-T: R-R. HT.: 6-0. WT.: 185.
SIGNED: Dominican Republic, 2015.
SIGNED BY: Carlos Salas (Phillies).

TRACK RECORD: Originally signed by the Phillies for $35,000 in July 2015, Sanchez was traded to the Marlins in the February 2019 trade that sent J.T. Realmuto to Philadelphia for catcher Jorge Alfaro, lefthander Will Stewart and Sanchez, who was the Phillies’ No. 1 prospect at the time. Prior to the trade, Sanchez established himself as one of the top pitching prospects in baseball on the strength of an explosive three-pitch arsenal. A 6-foot, 185-pound righthander, Sanchez struggled with right elbow inflammation in 2018, restricting him to just 46.2 innings in his final season with the Phillies. Sanchez enjoyed good health in 2019, pitched a career-high 114 innings and reached Double-A for the first time. Sanchez was the top-ranked pitching prospect in the Southern League, posting an 8-4, 2.53 record with 97 strikeouts and just 19 walks in 103 innings.