Supposedly he stayed in Philly and worked out this winter.
"SĂĄnchez added even more muscle in the offseason; the Phillies believe his added strength last season helped him better repeat his mechanics."
Last year he averaged 94.5, touched 98.So 98 in a short stint isn't surprising.
Averaged 93.0, t95.6 two seasons ago, then regressed in 2023 before his breakout 2024.
So if he's maxed out at 28 years old, 95 MPH as his average ain't bad, given his plus plus changeup.
Slider is solid, 2 seamer got hit around last season even with additional velo.
Lefty Cristopher SĂĄnchez, the rising star of the Phillies rotation, throws a sinker, changeup, and slider, but back in January, he told reporters that heâd be adding a new pitch. The catch? He wouldnât say what the new pitch was. âI am working on a few new things,â he said through an interpreter. âI wonât say what those are, but Iâm working on a few new things.â With his low arm slot, SĂĄnchez averages nearly 18 inches of arm-side run on his sinker and changeup and just one inch of glove-side break on his slider, so itâs hard to imagine that the mystery pitch could be a sweeper or a four-seamer. Statcast did categorize three of his 2024 pitches as cutters, and that has to be the leading contender. Lance Brozdowski agrees, noting, âEverything SĂĄnchez throws to righties â sinker, changeup, slider â is down in the zone. Thinking from a âwhat quadrants of the zone can you touchâ standpoint, it makes sense to incorporate a cutter up and inside to right-handed hitters.â
But when you finish 10th in Cy Young voting, you don't need a lot of improvement.
