The Philadelphia Phillies have seen significant growth in pitcher Cristopher Sánchez over the past few years, culminating in a four-year contract extension during the 2024 season that includes team options for 2029 and 2030. Despite high expectations, team leaders did not fully anticipate the level of success Sánchez has achieved.
“As much as we like Cristopher,” said Dave Dombrowski, president of baseball operations, “I wouldn’t be telling you the truth if … when he first came up — even though we liked a lot of things about him — I thought we’d be sitting here today and he would have enjoyed the success he’s had. … What he’s accomplished has really been phenomenal.”
Manager Rob Thomson added, “I’d be lying if I said I did, to tell you the truth. His journey has been so remarkable.”
During June 2024, Sánchez was still considered behind other pitchers such as Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola in the Phillies’ rotation. However, with uncertainty around Wheeler’s status for the start of the 2026 season, Nola recovering from injuries, and Ranger Suárez entering free agency, Sánchez is now a candidate to start on Opening Day.
Sánchez’s development into one of Major League Baseball’s top pitchers can be traced to three main factors: his effective changeup, improvements to his sinker, and better command.
His changeup has been particularly effective. In his first full season as a starter in 2023, opponents hit just .148 against it. The numbers remained strong in subsequent seasons—.177 in 2024 and .170 in 2025—making it one of baseball’s most difficult pitches to hit. According to Baseball Savant data, Sánchez’s changeup produced a +35 Run Value over two seasons, surpassing Tarik Skubal’s mark for any changeup in MLB.
Over those two years, hitters managed only a .174 average (102-for-587) with a .232 slugging percentage against his changeup. He allowed just three home runs on more than two thousand pitches thrown and recorded 221 strikeouts using that pitch.
The improvement of his sinker also played an important role. While it previously lagged behind his changeup—in 2024 it accounted for a -5 run value—it improved dramatically in 2025 with a +19 Run Value. No other MLB pitcher had multiple pitch types exceeding +15 Run Value during that period.
Sánchez increased velocity on both pitches while maintaining similar release points, making them hard for batters to distinguish despite being separated by nine miles per hour.
Command was another area where Sánchez made progress. Thomson recalled seeing him throw at high speeds but without control early on: “the ball was ‘all over the complex.’” Early minor league stats reflected this lack of control—averaging nearly six walks per nine innings at Triple-A Lehigh Valley and more than four walks per nine innings across limited major league action between 2021-22.
In contrast, over the next three seasons he averaged only 1.9 walks per nine innings and posted a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 4.4.
This combination resulted in Sánchez accumulating a 2.89 ERA with 365 strikeouts and only 88 walks over two seasons—a record matched by just four other pitchers: Zack Wheeler, Tarik Skubal, Chris Sale and Paul Skenes.
The Phillies are based in Philadelphia and play their home games at Citizens Bank Park since 2004 (official website). As one of Major League Baseball’s oldest franchises dating back to its founding in the nineteenth century (official website), they serve fans locally and nationally through professional games and community outreach efforts (official website). The organization operates under executive leadership from Citizens Bank Park (official website) as part of MLB’s National League (official website).
