It’s getting harder and harder to argue against the belief that Cristopher Sánchez is one of the best pitchers in baseball. The Phillies ace lefty turned in one of the most dominant outings of the season so far in his last start, a complete game shutout with 13 strikeouts on 108 pitches. That dazzling performance lowered Sánchez’ season ERA to 1.82 which led the National League on Monday morning and was the fourth best in all of baseball.
It’s funny to think now how disliked the trade that brought
Sánchez to the Phillies was at the time it was made. As you’re probably well aware of by now, the Phillies traded a then top 100 prospect in Curtis Mead for Sánchez who, at the time, was deemed not worthy of the Tampa Bay Rays 40-man roster. Many evaluators believed that Sánchez’ ceiling was that of either a reliever or AAAA-type starter who would be destined to bounce back and forth from the Major and minor leagues.
Sánchez deserves the lion’s share of the credit for his transformation from a fringe of the roster body into one of the best pitchers in baseball. He put in the work to improve himself physically and mentally to achieve a ceiling many thought not possible. But the Phillies deserve some credit too, as they helped him along in his journey and were able to successfully develop a homegrown ace.
That brings us to our question of the day: Who is the Phillies’ biggest player development win? Sánchez may be the favorite, but the last winning core in Philadelphia also had some players that exceeded expectations. Ryan Howard of course was a fifth-round pick that turned into one of the most feared hitters across the league, but he was considered a first-round talent in some circles. Carlos Ruiz was never even close to a highly touted prospect, but under the Phillies tutelage he turned into a mainstay at catcher for a championship team while also guiding one of the best rotations in baseball history.
Who are some other huge development wins in Phillies history? Is Sánchez the biggest? What about Howard and Ruiz?
