Results tagged ‘ Jesus Sanchez ’
Another Pitcher Hits DL
In an expected though no less unfortunate move, the Milwaukee Brewers officially placed relief pitcher Jim Henderson on the 15-day Disabled List following Saturday afternoon’s game.
Henderson, who is nine-for-nine in Save opportunities this season, was pitching in Friday night’s game when he strained his right hamstring on a pitch. The play resulted in the second out of the top of the ninth inning but with the Brewers clinging to a one-run lead and seeing their first victory of the season when they scored three or fewer runs, Henderson could not physically continue.
Manager Ron Roenicke called on the recently added Francisco Rodriguez to face Neil Walker in an attempt to get the final out. Rodriguez induced a ground ball to the second baseman and the Brewers won the day. For Rodriguez it was his first Save of the year and the 295th of his MLB career.
After Friday’s game, Henderson spoke to the media and felt that he might be ready to go after a few days of rest but Roenicke countered by saying that Henderson would see the doc and they’d make their decision based on roster considerations as well as health. In other words, the Brewers couldn’t afford to carry another down pitcher if Henderson was going to miss even a handful of games.
The doctor made his diagnosis and recommendation on Saturday afternoon. With no time to get a replacement to town, and with a decision still to be made on who that would be anyway, the Brewers waited until Saturday night to DL their current closer.
So who comes up from the minor leagues for Sunday’s afternoon affair? Well, that all depends.
Do the Brewers just call up their choice for Tuesday’s starting pitcher? Do they summon a reliever for two days and exchange him for that same starter after Monday’s game? Or will Alfredo Figaro start on Tuesday so a relief pitcher can come up and just stay through until later in the week?
It’d be easier to know what they are going to do if we knew who was coming, but they’re probably deciding on what before they pick who.
If they go get a starter, I’d still expect it to be Tyler Thornburg despite his early season struggles with Triple-A Nashville. Thornburg would be the least affected by the situation, methinks. Furthermore, his next turn is scheduled for Monday so he’d be on close-to-regular rest.
If they choose to summon a bullpen arm, some names I’d watch for are Jesus Sanchez and Michael Olmsted. Sanchez has solid numbers so far for Nashville which works in his favor. Olmsted was the darling of Spring Training and one of the final cuts from camp.
That announcement will come prior to Sunday’s game though so keep it tuned to your favorite fan blogger (or me, if they’re unavailable) for all the details in the morning.
Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers – #68 Jesus Sanchez
Today is Wednesday, January 23, 2013. We sit 68 days away from April 1 and Opening Day at Miller Park.
Certainly getting anxious for the season to begin, especially with the temperatures we’ve endured here in Wisconsin over the past couple of days.
Alas, there are 68 days to go but the good news is that there are still a boatload of “Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers” articles to be posted.
Today’s subject joined the Brewers for the 2011 season, already a veteran of five minor league seasons to that point, but today he’s still just 25 years old.
He is…
Jesus Sanchez.
Jesus Enrique Sanchez is a 5’11″, 202 lb, right-handed relief pitcher. That has not always been the case during his professional career.
While I’m sure the height and weight have stayed relatively steady, Sanchez was originally in the New York Yankees farm system as a catcher. He made his pro debut in the Dominican Summer League in 2005. The next year he was traded as part of a package to the Philadelphia Phillies. It was with the Phillies where he would undergo his reassignment from receiving pitches to throwing them.
That move came in 2009 as a member of the Lakewood Blue Claws (hence the chose photo), the Class-A affiliate of the Phillies. They started Sanchez 26 times that year with promising results. In 2010 at Class-A Advanced nearly all of Sanchez’ peripherals improved but he was on the Phillies’ 40-man roster and they needed the space. On December 7, 2010 the Phillies released him.
After signing a minor league deal with the Brewers, Sanchez was assigned to Double-A Huntsville. He started 14 games along with making 16 relief appearances. The results were a mixed bag. He started his first nine games struggling to a 5.40 ERA. After switching to the bullpen for the majority of the rest of the season, he managed to whittle his ERA down to 4.91 but it wasn’t an encouraging campaign.
2012 was a different story though. Sanchez began the year in the Huntsville bullpen and the only change he made was when he was promoted to Triple-A Nashville’s bullpen at the beginning of July (a common time for promotions to happen in the minors). Combined between the two stops, Sanchez pitched to a 7-3 record with a 1.63 ERA in 52 games over 71.2 IP. His WHIP was 1.102 and while he wasn’t striking opponents out at an elite rate, 8.0/9 is still pretty good. When you factor in a K/BB of nearly three (2.91) and that he kept the ball in the yard (0.3 HR/9 overall with a “John Blutarsky” at Nashville), he was really an effective pitcher.
The time came in December where the Brewers would need to protect Sanchez from Rule V Draft exposure by means of rostering him on the 40-man. They chose to do so and Sanchez was subsequently invited to big league Spring Training as well.
Sanchez will begin the 2013 regular season where he ended 2012, in Nashville’s bullpen, but a strong showing with the Brewers’ coaching staff watching your every performance could go a long way in determining who gets the first call up to Milwaukee due to ineffectiveness or injury.
Coming with Sanchez wherever he pitches in 2013 should be the same excellently commanded low-90s fastball, solid change, and a work-in-progress slider. He reportedly commands all of his pitches well, which of course is a necessity when your velocity is a bit below average.
Sanchez is a candidate for some regression at Triple-A, but mainly due to the eye-popping totals he posted in 2012. He’s certainly in the Brewers plans at this point.
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You can follow Jesus Sanchez on Twitter: @JSanchez2409
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