Prospect of the Day: Hector Sanchez, C, San Francisco Giants

by John Sickels on Jul 18, 2011 8:00 AM EDT

San Francisco Giants prospect Hector Sanchez (photo by Jed Jacobsohn, Getty Images)

Prospect of the Day: Hector Sanchez, C, San Francisco Giants

Just before the All-Star Break, the Giants promoted catching prospect Hector Sanchez to the major league roster. What sort of prospect is he, and could he eventually share the catching job with Buster Posey?

The Giants signed Sanchez out of Venezuela in 2007. After two solid seasons in the Dominican Summer League, he moved up to the Arizona Rookie League in 2009 and hit .299/.403/.410 at age 19. In 2010 he played for Augusta in the Low-A South Atlantic League, hitting .274/.336/.394 in 89 games. He began '11 with San Jose in the High-A California League, hitting .301/.321/.511 in 42 contests.

Following Posey's injury, the Giants promoted Sanchez to Triple-A Fresno in mid-June, skipping Double-A entirely. He held his own in 25 Pacific Coast League games, hitting .305/.370/.366, leading to his recent major league promotion. In 288 career minor league games, Sanchez has hit .301/.379/.445 with 113 walks and 169 strikeouts in 1156 plate appearances.

Sanchez is a 21-year old switch-hitter, listed at 5-11, 235 pounds. He has good athleticism and mobility, although he struggles to control his weight (he entered pro ball at 185) and that will have to be watched as his career progresses. Scouts like his swing and see significant power potential in his bat, but his strike zone judgment is an issue and scouts identify weaknesses against breaking balls. He posted a poor 5/41 BB/K in 176 at-bats in the Cal League, although interestingly this improved greatly to 9/13 in 82 at-bats in the PCL. Let's just say his plate discipline is inconsistent. He has good bat speed and scouts expect he can hit for both average and power with maturity.

On defense, Sanchez has a very good arm and a quick release. He caught 38% of runners in 2010, 42% for San Jose, and 24% during his three weeks at Fresno. However, the other aspects of his defense are raw, and he's vulnerable at this point to excessive passed balls and defensive miscues. These types of things usually improve with experience, and with his arm strength and good mobility he should be a positive asset with the glove once he matures.

Sanchez was rushed to the majors. Given his lack of advanced minor league experience, I don't think he's ready for full-time action. He does serve as good medium and long-term insurance if Posey has problems returning from his injury. If Posey fully recovers, Sanchez would be an ideal reserve down the line, at worst. If his skills fully develop, he has enough natural ability to be a regular, creating some nice options for the Giants on the trade market or if Posey has to switch positions.

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I'm thinking the Giants want to move Posey

and they want to see what they have behind the plate in Sanchez before they have to go out and acquire another C. I bet we see Posey at first and Belt in the outfield when Spring ball rolls around next year.

by High and Inside on Jul 18, 2011 9:24 AM EDT reply actions

This is a short-term promotion

Nice synopsis, John. Sanchez indeed has all of the tools needed to be a successful defensive catcher and hitter in the majors – just not at this time. One thing that you failed to mention is that he is also not ready to handle a major league pitching staff both in terms of calling games and managing pitchers in-game. The Giants were giving him a crash-course in that aspect of catching when they promoted him to AAA Fresno and paired him with their Fresno manager, Steve Decker, who is the guru that tutored Buster Posey in the finer points of catching in the pros in 2009 and 2010.

The Giants have said (in the person of Bruce Bochy) that they brought Sanchez up to give Bochy better options at the bat in the later innings of games. Both of their veteran catchers, Whitehouse and Stewart, are offensively-challenged so having Sanchez on the roster allows Bochy to be more pro-active with pinch hitting for them at the end of tight games. I think that it goes without saying that this is a situation that is going to change by July 31st, or soon thereafter. The Giants will almost certainly be trading for a catcher by then and as soon as that happens Sanchez will be back in AAA (barring him hitting like Pablo Sandobal did when he was called up from AA back in August of 2008 between now and then).

"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner

Keep an eye on my son, Jake "The Jacksonville Rifle" Dunning. From SS to the mound - exclusively toeing the rubber since March 2010.

by Fla-Giant on Jul 18, 2011 10:47 AM EDT reply actions