The Phillies tend to err on the side of caution when it comes to player health. For pitchers, their workloads are monitored closely. Not only in the minors but also in the majors. The organization is dedicated to making sure their pitchers don’t pitch too much. They want them as healthy as possible. Too many innings or pitches on an arm can result in long-term issues everyone would like to avoid.
When it comes to the process of load management, it’s not just the baseball people making these decisions. Members of the Phillies’ training and strength and conditioning staffs have a say. Manager Rob Thomson is just one of the many people who listen to those people very closely.
Cristopher Sánchez is an example of a pitcher the club was going to monitor coming into this season. The left-hander pitched 149 regular-season innings between the minors and majors in 2023. He threw 2 1/3 innings in one playoff appearance. Those 151 1/3 innings were a single-season career high. Coming off such a workload isn’t always easy for a pitcher. Especially for one that has never experienced that level of usage. But last year’s innings don’t seem to be affecting Sánchez.
Sánchez pitched his way into a 2024 rotation spot with his efforts from a season ago. He’s more than exceeded expectations. The 27-year-old was selected to his first All-Star team this year. He’s tied for the major-league lead with two complete games. One of those complete games was a shutout. Overall, through 28 starts, Sánchez has a 3.33 ERA. According to FanGraphs, his 4.6 wins above replacement after Monday’s start ranked fourth in Major League Baseball among starting pitchers.
Monday’s six-inning outing for Sánchez put him at 165 innings for the season. But you wouldn’t know it if you watched him pitch. Sánchez fired nine sinkers on Monday that reached at least 95.5 mph in the fifth and sixth innings combined. In his Sept. 4 start, Sánchez reached back for 96-plus mph six times in the seventh inning alone. His hardest pitch of that game, a 97.6 mph sinker, was his 94th of the day. Sánchez’s average sinker velocity this season is 94.5 mph.
Gaining and keeping velocity throughout a start isn’t new for Sánchez. It’s happened all year long. But how has he continued to do it this late in the season as he’s reaching new heights with his workload?
“He’s got a rubber arm, man,” Thomson said before Tuesday’s game. “He’s in tremendous shape and he’s a lot stronger than he’s ever been. …Our strength and conditioning [staff] and our nutrition people have really done a good job, and he’s done a good job maintaining his weight. And that’s a huge deal for him.”
The Phillies have a way to monitor their pitchers. It’s not just workload. They look at data. And Sánchez’s remains strong, according to Thomson. “All the measurements are really good,” the Phillies’ skipper said about Sánchez. “It’s remarkable what he’s done. He’s still strong.”
Thomson said he doesn’t anticipate pulling back on his starters as the postseason nears. At least not right now. “These are big games. Nothing’s been decided, so we gotta keep winning games.”
So, for the time being, the left-hander will continue to pitch with little to no worry about an innings limit. Maybe that will change in a week or two when the postseason picture becomes more clear. Either way, what Sánchez has done and continues to do this season is nothing short of impressive.
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