Ali Sanchez

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked New York Mets #27 prospect in 2020
  TRACK RECORD: Sanchez is a gifted defensive catcher who signed in 2013 but didn't reach full-season ball until 2017 because his bat was so light. His batting line ticked up near average at Double-A Binghamton in 2019 and he reached Triple-A for the first time late in the season.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Sanchez impacts games while behind the plate, in both obvious and subtle ways. His plus arm plays up a grade because of his quick transfer and throwing accuracy. He threw out 44 percent of basestealers at the upper levels of the minors in 2019. Sanchez shines as a game-caller and pitch-framer, helping to win strikes for his pitchers. At the plate, Sanchez is a bottom-of-the-order hitter who uses all fields with an inside-out swing. He has 20-grade power but has shown greater skill at hitting for average and drawing walks in recent seasons.
  
  THE FUTURE: If major league rosters expand to 26 players in 2020, as expected, it would create an extra 30 big league jobs, some of which could go to defensive-oriented backup catchers like Sanchez. That played a role in the Mets' decision to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.
• 
  Ranked New York Mets #27 prospect in 2018
  Sanchez has hit just .223 outside of the complex Rookie leagues, but his defensive tools are so tantalizing--and catchers tend to develop later than other position players--that he remains a prospect of interest. At low Class A Columbia in 2017, Sanchez led all South Atlantic League catchers who caught at least 50 games by throwing out 48 percent of basestealers. He ranked second in the SAL in fewest steal attempts per game and fourth in fewest passed balls per game. TrackMan data estimates that Sanchez saved more than 20 runs with his ability to frame pitches as strikes; only Greenville's Roldani Baldwin saved more runs in the SAL. Sanchez has solid-average arm strength, a lightning-fast release and strong accuracy. Even at age 20, he shows advanced feel for calling a game. Sanchez shows some raw power in batting practice, but sticks to a contact-oriented, middle-of-the-field hitting approach in games. Even scouts who like him aren't convinced that he'll hit, and he lost hitting reps in 2017 when he broke the hamate bone in his left hand and missed August. With even fringe-average hitting ability, Sanchez could be a big league backup catcher, but he's not there yet.
• 
  Ranked New York Mets #27 prospect in 2017
  Catchers tend to develop later than other position players, which is good news for Sanchez, who signed for $690,000 as a 16-year-old out of Venezuela in 2013. He had shown strong contact skills and an all-fields hitting approach early in his career but regressed badly at the plate at short-season Brooklyn in 2016. Sanchez recorded the second-lowest OPS (.535) among regular New York-Penn League catchers as he struggled to pull the ball in the air. The Mets believe he can develop into a fringe-average hitter with below-average power, and his raw defensive ability will buy him time to develop his bat. While Sanchez is not the most vocal catcher and plays with a quiet intensity, he has plus arm strength and the quick transfer and pinpoint accuracy to make the most of it. He threw out 48 percent of basestealers in 2016. He blocks and frames the ball well, though he can improve on both counts on pitches thrown to his glove side. Sanchez can develop into a big league catcher, but it's going to take time.
• 
  Ranked New York Mets #15 prospect in 2016
  Graduating prospects Travis d'Arnaud in 2014 and Kevin Plawecki in 2015 depleted the upper-level catching depth in the system, but Sanchez gives the Mets a chance to compensate for those losses--eventually. He signed for $690,000 as a 16-year-old out of Venezuela in 2013, and he spent the 2015 season in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, but his potential, particularly defensively, could make his arrival worth the wait. Scouts who saw Sanchez in the GCL rave about his ability to receive pitches, block balls in the dirt, run a pitching staff and shut down the running game. Because he has quick feet and a quick transfer, he records excellent pop times between 1.8 and 1.9 seconds on throws to second base, despite having just average arm strength. In fact, he led all GCL catchers by throwing out 48 percent of basestealers. Sanchez has a long way to go offensively, but he already shows a disciplined, contact-oriented hitting approach and an inside-out swing that allows him to pepper the right-center field gap. Sanchez has bottom-of-the-scale power right now, though he could step up his production as he matures physically and learns how and when to pull the ball. Expect a promotion to short-season Brooklyn in 2016.
• 
  Ranked New York Mets #27 prospect in 2015
  The Mets believe they have a special talent in Sanchez, an athletic catcher they signed out of Venezuela for $690,000 in 2013. He has advanced catch-and-throw skills, and he performed in his first pro summer in the Dominican Summer League in 2014, hitting .303/.406/.394 with nearly as many walks (27) as strikeouts (31). He also ranked third among league catchers by throwing out 51 percent of basestealers. Sanchez uses a contact-oriented, inside-out approach to hit for a high average, though with added strength and maturity he could approach average power. Sanchez is a quiet receiver with quick feet and hands, which he uses to make fluid transfers from glove to hand. Accuracy helps his average arm play up. Look for Sanchez to play catcher every day at one of the Mets' Rookie-level affiliates in 2015.

• February, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Sanchez is a gifted defensive catcher who signed in 2013 but didn't reach full-season ball until 2017 because his bat was so light. His batting line ticked up near average at Double-A Binghamton in 2019 and he reached Triple-A for the first time late in the season.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Sanchez impacts games while behind the plate, in both obvious and subtle ways. His plus arm plays up a grade because of his quick transfer and throwing accuracy. He threw out 44 percent of basestealers at the upper levels of the minors in 2019. Sanchez shines as a game-caller and pitch-framer, helping to win strikes for his pitchers. At the plate, Sanchez is a bottom-of-the-order hitter who uses all fields with an inside-out swing. He has 20-grade power but has shown greater skill at hitting for average and drawing walks in recent seasons.
  
  THE FUTURE: If major league rosters expand to 26 players in 2020, as expected, it would create an extra 30 big league jobs, some of which could go to defensive-oriented backup catchers like Sanchez. That played a role in the Mets' decision to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.