Yankees Prospect Profile Number Three: Gary Sanchez

As we continue along with the Yanks Go Yard Prospect Profile series, we move down the MLB pipeline to the third ranked prospect for the New York Yankees, Gary Sanchez.

Ranked among the New York Yankees top ten prospects for the past seven seasons by Baseball America (including five times in the overall top 100 in baseball), catcher Gary Sanchez has been in the organization for what seems like an eternity. Sanchez signed out of the Dominican Republic for $2.5 million all the way back in 2009, tantalizing scouts with his prodigious power potential and cannon arm even at 16 years old.

Gary Sanchez has done nothing but rake in his steady climb up the minor league ladder, compiling a career .274/.337/.461 batting line in over 2600 MiLB plate appearances. The fact that Sanchez has consistently been 2-4 years younger than the average age of his competition along the way makes his accomplishments even more impressive.

While he has long been a productive power bat, his real coming out party was in 2015, when he hit .295/.349/.500 (145 wRC+) in 146 PAs upon reaching the Yankees highest minor league level. Even more important than his hot bat was a newfound commitment to improving his defense behind the plate. For years, Sanchez had been plagued by whispers that he wasn’t a hard worker, especially when it came to his defense.

Many even assumed he would ultimately need to move to first base or DH long term because Sanchez’s skills as a backstop weren’t progressing as expected. At 23, he has kicked the “immature” label he gained with a string of on and off the field incidents in his younger days. He was rewarded in September with his first call-up to the big leagues.

Sanchez followed up his strong 2015 performance by dominating the Arizona Fall League, leading all players with seven homers and being named the MVP of the Fall Stars game. This year, he’s shown that his breakout was no fluke, batting .279/.324/.500 (135 wRC+) through his first 204 PAs. While he lost the competition for the Yankees backup catcher job this spring to Austin Romine, it seems like just a matter of time before New York finds a place for him in their struggling lineup.

With the New York Yankees committed to getting younger and building from within, Gary Sanchez looks like he is right on the cusp of claiming a spot in the middle of their lineup. Along with Aaron Judge, Greg Bird, and Luis Severino, Sanchez is part of the young nucleus the team expects will kickstart them back to contention in the years to come.

Next: Yankees Prospect Profile Number Four: James Kaprielian

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