Florida / Miami Marlins All-Time Top 20 Players

17. Anibal Sanchez (13.0)

Anibal Sanchez is a 6-foot, 205 lb. right-handed native of Maracay, Venezuela. Born on February 27th, 1984, he signed with the Boston Red Sox in 2001 and made his professional debut with them in 2003. After the 2005 season, the Sox traded him with Hanley Ramirez, Jesus Delgado, and Harvey Garcia to Florida for Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell, and Guillermo Mota.

Sanchez made his major league debut with the Marlins in the 2006 season, cruising to a 10-3 record and a sparkling 2.83 ERA. On September 6th, in just his 13th career start, Sanchez struck out six and walked four in a no-hit, 2-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. At this point of his career, Sanchez was not considered a strikeout pitcher, as evidenced by his 72 whiffs in 114 1/3 innings, but his solid 1.190 WHIP was plenty good enough for him to finish ninth on the National League Rookie of the Year Award voting.

In 2007, a labrum tear limited Sanchez to only six starts with Florida. He was 2-1 with a 4.80 ERA and a frightening 2.067 WHIP in 30 innings. He would never again approach that level of inefficiency.

2008 and 2009 would see Sanchez start just 26 games for the Marlins, with a 6-13 record and a 4.51 ERA. His WHIP subsided to a more palatable but still concerning mark of 1.533 between the two seasons combined.

2010 would be Sanchez’ first actual full season of play in the major leagues. He led the Marlins with 195 innings pitched and 32 games started, with a team-second 157 strikeouts. He finished with a 13-12 record and a 3.55 ERA to his credit, along with a 1.344 WHIP that hinted at even better things to come.

In 2011, Sanchez set a career high with 202 whiffs in 196 1/3 innings, to date just one of two seasons where he struck out over a batter per inning. Despite starting in 32 games, he registered just 17 decisions, going 8-9 with a 3.67 ERA and a 1.278 WHIP.

2012 began for Sanchez on the rechristened Miami Marlins, and in 121 innings he struck out 110 batters with a 1.256 WHIP. He was 5-7 with a 3.94 ERA when Miami traded him with Omar Infante to the Detroit Tigers for Rob Brantly, Brian Flynn, and Jacob Turner.

Sanchez played five-and-a-half seasons with Detroit, then played a season with the Atlanta Braves. In 2019, he went 11-8 for the eventual World Series Champion Washington Nationals.