Saturday, May 07, 2005
The Anibal
Posted by Joe DiminoI'm pretty psyched, as later today I'm going to see The Anibal.
No, it's not a new movie starring Jesse Ventura and the guy Drago killed. He's Anibal Sanchez, probably the best pitching prospect you've never heard of. He currently pitches for the Wilmington Blue Rocks, but that's just a temporary stop on the way to superstardom. I'm taking a trip to Frederick, MD to look for myself.
Sanchez, 21, has 44 strikeouts and 1 walk in 26 innings this season. Carolina League hitters are at .182 against him right now. This is coming off a 2004 campaign in which he whiffed 101 in 76 innings (29 walks) over 15 starts for Lowell. Just 15, because he missed all of 2003 with an elbow injury. That seems like light years ago however.
His numbers look eerily similar to Josh Beckett's at a similar age, at a similar level, except Sanchez is pitching better. Boston seems to be taking it slow with him, but if he keeps this up, he's going to be in Fenway awfully soon. If he comes to a minor league park near you before then, I recommend taking a look-see.
Joe Dimino was an author with The Hardball Times who stopped writing several years ago due to real life taking up too much time, as well as the longest case of writer's block on record. He founded the The Hall of Merit. You can contact Joe by clicking here.