Aaron Sanchez, Toronto Blue Jays
March/April Stats: 3-1 record with a 20.6% strikeout rate, 15.3% walk rate, 2.32 ERA, 5.45 SIERA, and 0.3 fWAR in 31 innings
The Blue Jays will reportedly be trying to trade both Sanchez and Marcus Stroman prior to the trade deadline. Stroman, an early Cy Young contender, could fetch quite a haul, but it’ll be tougher to get the same for Sanchez after looking at his peripherals.
One would imagine that some sort of regression is on its way, as his 77.7% strand rate and .241 BABIP against are both better than his 3.6-fWAR performance from 2016, when his walk rate was about half what it currently is. The right-hander has made a significant shift in pitch mix, favoring his curveball (20.9%) more than his changeup (15.9%), which is the complete opposite of last year (12.0% curveball usage, 23.7% changeup usage).
That change has certainly helped Sanchez’s overall results — his curveball has produced an eye-popping 53.8% strikeout rate with a .237 OPS and -20 wRC+.
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