BRADENTON, Fla. — Cristopher Sánchez set the bar high for himself after a career year in 2024, but if his Grapefruit League outing on Friday was any indication, he could be just as good in 2025.
The left-handed pitcher hit 98.4 mph on the radar gun and allowed one run on two hits over three innings of work against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He averaged 97 mph on his sinker and 87.9 mph on his changeup.
This is spring training, of course, so you have to take it with a grain of salt, but manager Rob Thomson was impressed.
“Outstanding,” Thomson said of Sánchez. “He’s really throwing the ball well. Changeup was dynamite, and the slider is really coming. He’s developing that pitch as we speak. And the command, control, tremendous.”
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Sánchez has been working to add a slider to his repertoire and tested it out on Friday. Thomson said the depth of the pitch stood out to him — and the opposing hitters’ reactions.
“That tells you a lot,” Thomson said. “Nothing was hit hard today.”
Only one of Sánchez’s pitches was hit harder than 95 mph — which is what Baseball Savant considers hard contact: a sinker that resulted in a 97.9 mph groundout by Tommy Pham. That’s it.
“It felt really good,” Sánchez said. “I’m going to keep working on it while also working on my other pitches.”
Sánchez didn’t get the win (the Phillies fell to the Pirates, 3-2) but now has a 2.35 ERA through his three Grapefruit League starts, with 12 strikeouts.
Who stood out: Kody Clemens hit his second home run of the spring on Friday, a ball that came off his bat at 108.4 mph and traveled 383 feet to right field.
On the mound: Prospect Moisés Chace, who was part of the return from the Orioles in the Gregory Soto trade, made his Grapefruit League debut on Friday. He pitched a scoreless inning, but his velocity was on the lower side, topping out at 93.9 mph on his four-seam fastball. He reached 98 mph last season.
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“I’m going to keep working on it, work in the gym, on my mechanics in the bullpen sessions,” Chace said. “That’s it.”
Quotable: “Good,” Thomson said of Chace. “The velocity isn’t where it’s going to be, and he’s still building. But the fastball has got a lot of ride to it, and the slider is really good. And he landed the slider for strikes. The fastball is tough to see for hitters and tough to get on top. Once he gains a couple more miles on that [velocity], it’s going to be really good.”
On deck: The Phillies will play the Blue Jays at 1:05 p.m. Saturday at home in Clearwater, Fla. The game will be broadcast on NBC Sports Philadelphia and 94 WIP. Taijuan Walker will pitch opposite of Blue Jays’ Bowden Francis.