Washington Nationals: Getting to know Adrian Sanchez

Yesterday, the Washington Nationals called up infielder Adrian Sanchez when Trea Turner went on the disabled list. How can he help the Nats?

It was sad news for the Washington Nationals when it was announced that Trea Turner broke his wrist in Thursday’s loss against the Cubs. While that news was sad, it’s great when a player who has spent their whole professional career in the minor leagues gets a chance to make the big leagues. That is the case with infielder Adrian Sanchez, who was called up for Turner.

The Washington Nationals signed Sanchez as a minor league free agent back in January 2007. Over the course of his minor league career, he has a slash line of .264/.306/.351 with 26 home runs and 121 stolen bases.

Sanchez was having a good season for the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs. In 67 games, the 26-year-old had a slash line of .259/.313/.381 with four home runs and 18 RBI’s and four stolen bases. His 62 hits were tied with Clint Robinson for the second most on the Chiefs roster heading into Friday.

If you want to look at what has changed for Sanchez this year, it’s his flyball rate. According to Fangraphs, he has hit a flyball about 54% of the time, which is a big increase from last season (31.8%). That is evident in his 15 doubles this year, which is tied with Brandon Snyder for the team lead.

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While Snyder might have been the better call-up because of his positional versatility all over the field, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post wrote Thursday night that Snyder has been dealing with an injury.

"“Brandon Snyder, who can play every position on the field but is not an above average shortstop, was named an International League all-star for the Chiefs. But Snyder hurt his arm Wednesday, and Sanchez was to be his replacement after a strong first half. “"

With the Chiefs this season, Sanchez has mainly played shortstop, but he has also played ten or more games at second base and third base. Since Stephen Drew is now the starting shortstop, Dusty Baker told the media that they don’t want to wear the veteran out, so Sanchez should get some chances to play:

Dusty said he's going to mix + match in the leadoff spot depending on matchups, etc. As for SS, he said he doesn't want to wear Drew out.
— Jorge Castillo (@jorgecastillo) June 30, 2017

Yes, Sanchez didn’t have any big league experience before last night, but he has played on a big stage before. This past March, he was on team Colombia during the World Baseball Classic. He was 3-for-12 at the plate with a pair of doubles and a RBI. That RBI came in the opener against Team USA.

Next: Turner's wrist injury huge blow

The Turner news does bring some sadness for the Washington Nationals, but some of that sadness should be taken away by seeing Sanchez accomplish his dream of making it to the major leagues. Hopefully, he will continue on the success he had with the Chiefs this season.

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