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Miami Marlins starting pitcher Sixto Sanchez, the franchise’s top prospect, had his simulated game from earlier this week cut short after he expressed feeling “slight discomfort” in his right shoulder, according to Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald.
Per the #Marlins, Sixto Sanchez reported “slight discomfort” in his throwing shoulder after his start at the alternate training site yesterday. They'll re-evaluate and see what the next steps are.
— Jordan McPherson (@J_McPherson1126) April 1, 2021
Sanchez, 22, was already slated to begin this season in the minor leagues after he was optioned to Triple-A on Wednesday. He was expected to be back up in the majors sometime later in April or early May, but that timetable is on hold for now.
Sanchez is considered a top-20 prospect in all of Major League Baseball and, according to DraftKings Sportsbook, had 5:1 odds to become the National League Rookie of the Year in 2021 as of Wednesday. Those were the second-best odds of all NL rookies, trailing only Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes.
NL Rookie of the Year Betting Splits, March 31
| Handle Rank | Team | Odds | % of Handle | % of Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Handle Rank | Team | Odds | % of Handle | % of Bets |
| 1 | Ke'Bryan Hayes | +350 | 52% | 26% |
| 2 | Dylan Carlson | +700 | 19% | 24% |
| 3 | Sixto Sanchez | +500 | 7% | 7% |
| 4 | Ian Anderson | +750 | 6% | 10% |
| 5 | Jazz Chisholm | +3000 | 5% | 6% |
| 6 | Jonathan India | +4000 | 2% | 4% |
| 7 | Cristian Pache | +1200 | 2% | 6% |
| 8 | MacKenzie Gore | +2000 | 2% | 3% |
| 9 | Ha-Seong Kim | +1800 | 1% | 1% |
| 10 | Nick Lodolo | +1200 | 1% | 1% |
Fantasy owners were going to have to be patient with Sanchez anyway to begin this season. Hopefully this is nothing more than a little inflammation and he will be back on the mound in short order. Until other news breaks on this story, Sanchez remains a hold in all formats and possibly a value pick during in-season drafts if this proves to be a very minor setback.
Sanchez has already proved he can succeed at the highest level. He recorded a 3.46 earned run average across 39 innings last season. He went 3-2 and picked up 33 strikeouts. One of his best starts came during the 2020 playoffs as he shut out the Chicago Cubs for five innings at Wrigley Field in a 2-0 Marlins victory.
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