At first glance, Florida’s
Gaby Sanchez(notes) is just another mediocre Helton in an arena filled with heavy
hitting statistical rock stars. Essentially, he’s fantasy’s version of a
xylophonist – unadored by groupies, only appreciated by the Violent Femmes.
But behind the sophomoric jokes and assumed marginality lies
a player with quality upside, even for novices who believe the free-swinging LaRoches
(Really more Adam than Andy) are a flying trapeze act.
Sanchez is your prototype homegrown talent. Born and
raised in Miami,
he played infield for the much ballyhooed ‘U.’ Believe it or not, he was also one of
the few dozen fans who grew up idolizing Marlins. Images of Bobby Bonilla and Jeff Conine(notes) surely adorned his bedroom wall.
Now an elder prospect at 26, the former Hurricane could
yield instant value. Staving off future heartthrob Logan Morrison(notes) in spring
training, Sanchez won the starting first base job by maintaining a light
mindset. Instead of applying unneeded pressure onto himself, an approach he
failed to follow last year, he entered camp more relaxed and open-minded. His
forceless demeanor led to gaudy exhibition numbers. Over 54 at-bats, he’s stroked
a .352 BA with two homers, five RBI, 13 runs and a stolen base. His 15:4 K:BB
disparity is slightly alarming, but Fredi Gonzalez is optimistic the youngster
has the eye to succeed. Though Sanchez is a self-described "gap-to-gap
kind of guy," Gonzalez believes his pop is better than advertised. From
the Palm Beach
Post:
"Gaby, given a lot of at-bats, may be a 15- to 20-home
run guy. For a first year in the major leagues, I’ll take that."
Baseball America
projects 25-plus homers for the junior Marlin in the near future. Based on his
plus patience, high contact numbers and respectable power totals accumulated in
the minors (’09 Triple-A: 314 at-bats, .290-16-55, 0.95 BB/K), their foresights
are reasonable. It’s also important to note, he possesses double-digit speed. Two
seasons ago at Double-A, he swiped 17 bags.
Sanchez is slated to bat in the undesirable eighth position,
a spot which severely limits his RBI upside. However, with a strong start he
could be promoted to sixth, right behind Dan Uggla(notes).
Most unchallenged owners would skewer the Cadbury bunny if
it left Sanchez in their Easter basket. After all, as Grizzly Behrens pointed
out back in February, the average line among top 30 first basemen a season ago was .285-30-99-85-4. But
for fanatics in 12-team and deeper leagues which require a corner infield or
utility spot, the four percent-owned (330.12 ADP) commodity is rosterable. He could be the East Coast version of James Loney(notes) – not spectacular, but servicable.
If Sanchez roars out of the gate, you can surely bet he’ll
be "Gone Daddy Gone" off waivers.
Fearless Forecast: 467 at-bats, .278 BA, 18 HR, 70 RBI, 61 R, 8 SB
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