The Blue Jays have signed interesting left-handed pitcher J.J. Sanchez as a non-drafted free agent
2 months ago
The Blue Jays have signed another intriguing non-drafted free agent.
On Wednesday, Baseball America updated their non-drafted free agent list, and it included a left-handed pitcher named J.J. Sanchez.
He pitched with Southeastern Fire, of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in 2023. If you’re wondering, the NAIA is comparable to Division III of the NCAA, as it’s a program for smaller school.
Last season, the 23-year-old Sanchez had a 1.91 ERA in 37.2 innings pitched, along with a 41.4 K% and an 11.5 BB%. Moreover, he pitched with the Division II school Texas A&M International, which is in the same conference as Aaron Munson’s Angelo State University. In 2022 in Division II, Sanchez had a 4.67 ERA, along with a 34.4 K% and an 18 BB%.
Like always, statistics don’t tell the whole story. Sanchez has some nasty stuff, including a 92-86 mph. However, his slider is whiffle ball-esque, similar to fellow Blue Jays’ prospect Connor Cooke’s slider. His last pitch is a changeup, and it has nice sink and fade which is a weapon against right-handed batters.
After the 2022 draft, the Blue Jays signed another NAIA pitching as a non-drafted free agent, Kevin Miranda. The 24-year-old Panamianan pitched for Louisiana State University – Shreveport from 2020 to 2022. So far in his professional career, he has a 3.04 ERA in 53.1 innings pitched with the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays and the High-A Vancouver Canadians.
If Sanchez has similar success in his first season with the Jays as Miranda, that would be huge for the depth of the farm system. Still, Sanchez’s pure stuff makes him intriguing.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @Brennan_L_D.
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