Yankees MiLB News: 4 Intriguing September Call-ups

Mandatory Credit: (Robert M. Pimpsner/Pinstriped Prospects)

Gary Sanchez, Trenton Thunder.

If you are unaware of who Gary Sanchez is by now, you must live under a rock. Sanchez was the Yankees’ number one prospect coming into this season, and although recently surpassed by Luis Severino, is still number two. Sanchez has two primary hurdles to clear in order to make it to the Bronx this season.

Firstly, the 21-year-old future big league catcher has been terribly inconsistent this season. Sanchez was supposed to emerge as the leader of the defending Eastern League champion Thunder this season, yet due to his behavior earlier this year, spent some time suspended by skipper Tony Franklin. People have been upset with his on-field play as well, but I think he was in a mid-season slump and is shaping out nicely, sitting at .275 with 12 home runs and 56 RBI.

Secondly is the depth at catcher. Murphy is certain to make his return to the bigs, but the Austin Romine experiment should be over. One can make the argument that Sanchez should have been at SWB most of this season. Sanchez may be just 21-years-old, but he is a five-year veteran. Sure he has a ways to go defensively and yes, he needs to get more plate discipline to help in his consistency, but wouldn’t you just love to see what this kid is made of? This is a tremendous long shot, but you never know with a prospect as elite as Sanchez.