This story was excerpted from Jason Beck’s Tigers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
When the Tigers signed Yosber Sanchez in the spring of 2023, the hard-throwing right-hander was a former Rangers prospect with 23 walks and 37 strikeouts over 30 2/3 innings between the 2019 and ‘21 Dominican Summer League seasons and a lost 2022 campaign.
Now, he could be the next prospect to climb the Tigers’ pitching pipeline and make an impact in Detroit.
It’s still a ways off; Sanchez just made his Double-A debut for Erie last Friday. But the more he throws, the more he impresses.
“At the beginning [of my career], it was a little tough. I went through a lot of injuries,” Sanchez said last summer through a translator. “Once I learned how to take care of myself better, I was very thankful for the opportunity the Tigers gave me. I’ve been really focused on staying healthy so I can perform on the field. Even though I was released, it was kind of a blessing, where I could see myself better and be more detailed with my work.”
Sanchez’s injuries never required surgery, he said, but they were enough to impact his command.
He slashed his walk rate dramatically upon joining the Tigers' system, but he caught more attention for his power fastball, which approaches triple digits -- big for a pitcher listed at 6-foot-1 and 170 pounds. He struck out 48 batters over 29 2/3 innings across three levels in 2023, culminating at Single-A Lakeland. Last year, he fanned 82 batters over 61 innings with a 1.92 ERA in 40 games between Lakeland and High-A West Michigan.
Just as impressive, he averaged 4.4 walks per nine innings. One difference, he said, was not trying to be too fine with his location, aiming for the plate and letting his pitches naturally move rather than trying to aim for the corners. Another difference was his preparation and learning a routine that keeps him in the zone, fitting of the Tigers’ organizational philosophy.
Sanchez was on the Tigers’ prospect-loaded roster for their Spring Breakout game against the Braves but did not pitch. He opened the season on the injured list with a right finger laceration but quickly worked his way back. His fastball reached 99 miles per hour on his rehab assignment at Lakeland, according to Statcast, then sat at 96-98 during his SeaWolves debut on a rainy night at Harrisburg, Pa. He tossed 1 1/3 hitless innings with a walk and a strikeout before the game was called in the ninth inning.
Sanchez turns 24 years old on May 22. He’ll likely get an extended look in Erie as he learns the finer points of pitching and the nuances of location while working with top catching prospect Thayron Liranzo, with whom he worked at West Michigan. But with a relative dearth of pure power pitchers in the system following years of big arms, he has a chance to fill a role if he can continue to hone the art of pitching.