At the time the Mets traded R.A. Dickey, Toronto was perceived to have two talented pitching prospects in its low minors: Noah Syndergaard and Aaron Sanchez. The sense was the Mets liked Syndergaard better and – internally – the Blue Jays preferred Sanchez. The pair was picked four slots apart (Sanchez 34th, Syndergaard 38th) as high schoolers in the 2010 draft.
Syndergaard was traded to the Mets and began this year as a consensus top-15 prospect, Sanchez in the top 35. Both have endured struggles this year, but Sanchez is going to be beat his fellow righty to the majors – in part out of desperation by the Blue Jays.
Sources say the plan was to call up Sanchez on Tuesday to work out of the bullpen even before Boston trampled Toronto 14-1 on Monday. Sanchez, 22, had worked Sunday, so the Blue Jays wanted to give him a day off before summoning him to the majors.
A career starter, Sanchez was transitioned to the bullpen in the last week and appeared twice as a reliever at Triple-A. A scout who covers the Toronto system went against the general high-end perception of Sanchez and said he believes – in part because of control issues (5.1 walks per nine this year between Double-A and Triple-A) — Sanchez’s big arm will end up in the pen.
Sanchez is among the most regularly requested Blue Jays in significant trade talks, along with Double-A lefty Daniel Norris and defensive whiz center fielder Dalton Pompey. But sources say Sanchez’s promotion is not a showcase. He already is at a career-high 100 1/3 innings, and moving him to the pen allows Toronto to better control his innings.
And it just so happens to be an area of extreme need for the fading Blue Jays. Toronto was 38-24 on June 6, good for the second-best record in the AL. Their subsequent 13-25 record is the second-worst in the AL, and their 177 runs allowed in that time is the third worst. Toronto’s 4.50 relief ERA is 27th in the majors, so the hope is Sanchez’s high-end stuff and groundball penchant trump his propensity for wildness and help the Blue Jays, who begin Tuesday tied with the Yankees for second in the AL East, four games behind Baltimore.