Marlins OF Jesus Sanchez looks for his chance to make the Majors in 2020

Will Jesus Sanchez be able to join the Miami Marlins outfield to start the 2020 MLB season?

Add Jesus Sanchez to the growing list of players who were hoping to crack the Miami Marlins 26-man roster on Opening Day. The organization’s No. 3 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, is another outfielder hoping to let his bat do his talking this spring.

Sanchez’s name isn’t new to the Marlins, as he what is part of a growing list of prospects who are considered as trade bait for former Miami catcher J.T. Realmuto.

The Tampa Bay Rays never made that deal, and Sanchez remained in the organization. It was only at the MLB trade deadline last season that his name resurfaced when both ball clubs consummated a deal that sent Nick Anderson and Trevor Richards west on I-75 for Sanchez’s services along with Ryne Stanek.

Right now the jury is still out if you got the better part of the deal. Sanchez still has an outside shot at making the parent club, but competition is steep.

The Marlins front office made it a point this off-season to add more depth in the outfield. The team was more diligent in free agency and Hot Stove. The results are a stronger, deeper, more powerful position all across the warning track.

If the Marlins were in the American League, it’s a good bet Sanchez would be a designated hitter. As Jake Crouse wrote, his game is much like that of David Ortiz, the former slugger for the Boston Red Sox. If Sanchez has any kind of career like “Big Papi” then Miami got itself a steal.

"“At 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds, Sanchez can show flashes of Ortiz-like power, as he did on Friday with his first spring homer,” Crouse added."

It is a good bet Sanchez will start in AAA and Wichita. How soon he makes a leap to the Major Leagues will be determined by how players ahead of him perform. It’s almost a guarantee at some point he will take a swing in Marlins Park in an MLB game this season.

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Marlins appear set at two of their three outfield positions. Jonathan Villar will start in centerfield. Corey Dickerson should be in left field. The open right field position is up for grabs, which creates competition that is really good for a growing team.

The competition is not something that Sanchez is really concerned about other than learning to play with his new teammates and fighting for a chance to live a dream.

"“I don’t think much about that,” he said. “You know we have a lot of depth and a lot of prospects in the outfield, but I can’t be thinking about that. What I do is just work hard, try to put my numbers on the field, and I know with that, that’s how you can win a spot.”"