🔔 Cristopher Sánchez: All Results, No Hype

_{LAST GAME: Phillies 5 - Padres 1}

_{NEXT GAME: Phillies (Cristopher Sanchez) vs. Marlins (Eury Perez)}

_{Today, 7:05 EDT | NBCSP, 94 WIP}

Good morning. No game yesterday, but the Phillies return to Citizens Bank Park this weekend to kick off a 7-game homestand with the Marlins and Braves.

Not only will the Phillies will look to improve upon their 16-19 record against NL East teams this season, they will look to prove a point to Atlanta with a potential postseason rematch looming just a few weeks away.

First up, fins up, the Marlins, who remain just ½ game out of the National League’s final wild-card spot.

In the email today:

In a city where overreaction is routine, isn’t it kind of amazing that there isn’t more hype surrounding Cristopher Sánchez? It’s not just that he has stabilized the backend of the Phillies’ starting rotation either. Forget looking at his emergence through the lens of how he stacks up with what the Phillies have— take a wider view.

The 26-year-old left-hander has been one the National League’s best starting pitchers since being recalled on June 17. Here’s how he stacks up since then:

• Among NL pitchers who have made at least 12 starts in that time, only Freddy Peralta (0.93) and Zack Wheeler (0.99) have a better WHIP than Sánchez (1.00). That’s better than guys like Spencer Strider, Corbin Burnes, Logan Webb, and Zac Gallen.

• Sánchez has the second-lowest BB/9 rate (1.27) and third-best strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.40). Only Logan Webb and Zack Wheeler have a better K/BB in that time.

• His 3.31 ERA and .228 batting average against both rank 10th.

Our take: It’s almost certain that since I led the newsletter with these points that Sánchez is in for a rough outing tonight, but the point stands. He’s been among the most dependable starting pitchers in the league for nearly three months now.

So, why isn’t there more hype for a guy who has given the Phillies a number of competitive starts? The strikeout numbers don’t blow you away. There have been a few too many home runs. And maybe there is some Bailey Falter scar tissue built up? Fans just watched another young left-hander in Falter go from promising back-of-the-rotation type to traded for a bench player hitting .095 with the Phillies.

2) 👀 3 Phillies to Watch Down the Stretch

They don’t ask how you win this time of the year, just that you do. Still, there are three players that I would like to see more from over the final 3+ weeks before the playoffs.

• Aaron Nola: Nola hasn’t pieced together three consecutive good starts this season. He hasn’t allowed three or fewer runs in any three-game stretch this season. A disappointing run will be forgotten if he can simply bear down from here on out.

• Nick Castellanos: Castellanos has had a bounce back season, but he’s hitting just .218 with a .633 OPS since the All-Star break. He heated up for a bit in late August but is just 3-for-25 with 10 strikeouts this month. If he can’t find his footing, can the Phillies afford to keep hitting him behind or in front of Bryce Harper?

• Seranthony Domínguez: He hasn’t been bad lately, but he hasn’t been the dominant force we saw last postseason. His 3.54 ERA (2.84 over his last 30 games) is fine, but he continues to fight his command while missing electric swing-and-miss stuff. Over his last 15 appearances, he has struck out only nine batters while walking seven. That’s playing with fire.

3) 🏡 Tweet of the Day: Home Improvement w/ Tom McCarthy

We might have a new idea for future Phillies Rain Delay Theatre here.

Henceforth, I demand we only get the 1993, 2008, and 2022 video yearbooks along with some day off home improvement action with T-Mac.

Speaking of a day off, he doesn’t get many of those right now. He did the Northwestern-Rutgers football game Sunday before flying out to San Diego for the Padres series. He will then do the Phillies game tonight before heading to Denver for Raiders-Broncos this weekend.

I, on the other hand, haven’t been on a plane since 2019.

4) 📊 Poll: Trust Issues

Have additional thoughts? Reply directly to this email to comment, and see if we include your response tomorrow.

…

Results from our last poll [Which team do you want in the playoffs?]:

Your replies…

“Brewers and Cubs are most dangerous in a short series. Marlins have Alcantra who could be good for a win (although the Phils seem to have luck with him). I think the Giants are the most mediocre team in this list.”

“Honestly the Phillies should be favorites in any of these match-ups. If they lose, it's a failed season.”

“Without Sandy, the Marlins don’t have the pitching the other WC contenders do. ”

5) 🔗 Link Roundup:

• A look at the National League MVP race. It’s going down to the wire. 🏇

• Current FanGraphs projections have the Phillies hosting the Cubs in the opening round of the playoffs. 🐻

• A very detailed look at Trea Turner’s recent turnaround. 🧐

The newsletter today was written by: Bob Wankel (Follow on X)

Thanks for reading!