Carlos Sanchez signed with the Cincinnati Reds in January of 2022 as a part of their international signing class. He would have to wait until June to make his professional debut.
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When the season began, Carlos Sanchez was assigned to the Dominican Summer League. Over the first eight games the then 17-year-old got out to a bit of a slow start. While he walked more than he struck out in that span, he went just 4-21 (.191) with any extra-base hits.
On June 15th he began a stretch of nearly two months – though it was only 33 games – where he got on base in every game that he played in. From the 15th of June through August 13th he would hit .444 with six extra-base hits, 28 walks, and just 15 strikeouts in 130 plate appearances. That stretch saw him hit his first career home run – which you can see below and was a walk-off homer. From July 14th through the 26th he walked 19 times in 11 games (while also hitting .407).
With a week remaining in the season, Carlos Sanchez was hitting .400 for the year. But things weren’t destined to happen and have Sanchez reach that magical number as he went into a slump and went 2-19 to finish the season with a .355 average.
For all 2022 Season Reviews and Scouting Reports – click here (these will come out during the week throughout the offseason).
Carlos Sanchez Scouting Report
Position: 3B/RF | B/T: L/R
Height: 6′ 0″ | Weight: 177 lbs | Acquired: International FA, 2022
Born: January 12, 2005
Hitting | He has an average to above-average hit tool.
Power | He has average power with above-average raw power.
Speed | He’s got average speed.
Defense | See below.
Arm | He has an above-average arm.
It was a strong debut for Carlos Sanchez. While he didn’t show a bunch of power, that’s typically a rarity. What he did do was make tons of contact, walk a lot, and hit for a high average. Sanchez is already capable of using the entire field (he actually hit the ball to center and left more than his pull side to right field). He was lauded for his approach and pitch recognition for his age.
Carlos Sanchez saw action at both third base and right field in 2022. The results were quite different between the two spots. At third base he made 11 errors in 18 games, posting a .788 fielding percentage. In right field he made two errors in 27 games (.959 fielding percentage). He’s got plenty of arm strength for each position, but if there’s any chance for him to remain at third base he’s going to have to really cut down on the errors. In right field his arm plays, he’s got enough speed, and while he’s still learning to play outfield all of the pieces are there.
With 17-year-old players you are doing a lot of projection on their tools (as well as how those tools will play). For Sanchez to get the most from his hit and power tools he’s going to need to continue to fill out his frame – something the organization expects will happen. One person I spoke to gave Sanchez a potential plus raw power grade, though the others didn’t go that far. If he can max out there he could profile as an above-average every day player.
Video
Carlos Sanchez Spray Chart
Interesting Stat on Carlos Sanchez
He crushed right-handed pitching to the tune of .381/.500/.478 and both of his home runs came against righties. He struggled a bit against lefties, hitting just .240/.525/.280 with just one extra-base hit (a double) – but he did walk 14 times against them in 40 plate appearances (10 strikeouts).
Really like Carlos Sanchez, but DSL dominance doesn’t seem to be indicative of prospect superstardom. It’s better to be good, don’t get me wrong, but the strat numbers Sanchez put up don’t seem to correlate to prospectdom.
Still, lots here to like– particularly the BB/K numbers.
I agree BZ. Until you get to full season ball I am a bit wary. That said I do love that his BB% is 43% greater than his K%.
Comparison between Sanchez (2022) and another prospect who played in the DSL in 2021, also as a 17 year old.
Season PA AB H HR RBI BB SO SB AVG OBP SLG OPS
2021 189 159 47 5 25 23 28 8 0.296 0.386 0.447 0.833
2022 182 138 49 2 26 40 28 14 0.355 0.505 0.442 0.947
The “2021” prospect is Jackson Chourio for the Brewers who is now a consensus top 10 prospect in all of baseball after following up that season with a .880 OPS and getting to AA in 2022. Not saying Sanchez is in the same class as Chourio, who seemingly has more tools, but he did have better initial stats in his inaugural DSL season and one can dream.
Sorry the stat table got messy.
I’d be interested to see the Reds be aggressive and start him in Daytona, just to get him more ABs, but I understand both with his age and the gluttony of talent already slated to start in Daytona if he started in EST.
I like the aggressive approach too. I think there is some room in the OF in Daytona, but with Collier, Stewart, and overflow from the middle infielders looking for playing time, he wouldn’t likely get much if any reps at 3B.
Filling out his frame will surely help him gain strength, but I would not be surprised if he grew a bit taller either, given his 17 years and final growcspurts. I wonder if this played into one scout projecting plus power, perhaps? Purportedly possible …
When are you going to finish State of the Farm series? Thanks
Should be back in action with the starting pitchers on Tuesday. Relievers the next Tuesday. Finishing up with utility guys the Tuesday after that.
This looks like an exciting player to keep an eye on. Short, compact and powerful swing from the left side. Hopefully he takes working on his defense seriously enough so he doesn’t wind up in the dreaded left field category.