When will Marlins prospect Sixto Sanchez make his debut?

There is still no definite date when Miami Marlins pitching prospect Sixto Sanchez will make his debut with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.

The watch is still on as to when the Miami Marlins top minor league prospect Sixto Sanchez will make his organizational debut with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. The Southern League team is the Marlins Double-A affiliate.

Instead of the front office making a firm decision about Sanchez, the “TBD” tag has been placed on anything having to do with him stepping on the bump and facing opposing hitters.

“Tentatively, the plan has been for Sanchez to join Double-A Jacksonville on May 2 at Mississippi,” writes Joe Frisaro of MLB.com.“Those plans are still up in the air, however, because another possibility is for Sanchez to make at least one Class A Advanced Jupiter appearance, which also could be on May 2.”

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The team is taking its time with Sanchez. The pitcher was acquired in the deal that sent J.T. Realmuto to the Philadelphia Phillies just prior to the start of Spring Training.

As I reported a week ago here on Marlin Maniac, “The Marlins want to make sure Sanchez is ready to resume a full schedule of work before he is sent to the mound as part of the six-man rotation here in Jacksonville. A collarbone injury slowed his progress over the offseason.”

When he does make his debut, he will give Jumbo Shrimp manager Kevin Randel another pitcher with a chance to make the Marlins 25-man roster in the next three seasons. Robert Dugger and Jordan Yamamoto already headline the rotation. Adding Sanchez could prove to be a tipping point in Jacksonville’s quest to claim a Southern League title.

So far, the front office in Miami likes what they see from Sixto Sanchez, even if it is on a limited basis.

“In extended spring games, pitch counts and batters’ faced are controlled. If any pitcher is having his pitches go up, for example, they can abruptly shut down an inning,” Frisaro added.

Sanchez was the key component of the deal for Realmuto – a player the organization was adamant of obtaining to deal the best player on their roster from 2018. He has had two outings so far this short season, logged two innings in only one outing, but has also hit 98 mph on his fastball.

“Sanchez hasn’t dealt with any injury setbacks since the trade,” adds Frisaro. “Miami has been building up his throwing program slowly.”