Catcher Prospect Comparison: Yankees’ Gary Sanchez vs. Blue Jays’ Max Pentecost

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The New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays are amidst an instant classic divisional race that will likely rely on the last few games of the season. As we all know, the Blue Jays have made several major acquisitions prior to the trade deadline with Troy Tulowitzki and David Price. As a result, they have shrunk the Yankees divisional lead, and at one point took the lead; to date, the Yankees hold a two game lead over the Blue Jays.

Odds are baseball fans could witness the Yankees and the Blue Jays go head to head annually for the American League East crown. That being said, the catching position has proved to be crucial for both teams, as they are the in-game managers. Yankees’ Brian McCann and Blue Jays’ Russell Martin have provided their organization with both offense and defense when needed, but how is the outlook for the future?

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New York Yankees: Gary Sanchez, 22 (Alex Covone, VP)

Gary Sanchez was at one point the Yankees top prospect in their farm system. In 2009, the Yankees signed Sanchez out of the Dominican Republic to $3 million contract; at the time Sanchez was only 16-years-old.

By 2012 the Yankees had two clear astound prospects, both catchers, in Sanchez and, now Seattle Mariners, Jesus Montero, at one point regarded as the best catching prospect in the entirety of the league. Montero’s career has deteriorated due to his motives and poor work ethic; many have believed that Sanchez was headed down the same path due to his inconsistencies.

However, Sanchez is still only 22-years-old. Spending the 2015 season in both Double-A and Triple-A, Sanchez has bounced back well from his down year. Currently batting .268 with 16 home runs and 57 RBI in 87 games between the two leagues, Sanchez would provide viewers, and Yankees fans, with the same aspirations he once held.

Most recently, the 22-year-old Yankees prospect was featured in the 2015 MLB Futures Game, along with teammate Aaron Judge.

Sanchez’s name floated around prior to the trade deadline when the Yankees were reported to be shopping the catcher. In fact, the Yankees reportedly rejected a trade that would have sent Sanchez to the Atlanta Braves for outfielder Cameron Maybin in return.

Strengths To Succeed:

Lingering around the top of the Yankees prospect list should be noted. As stated earlier, Sanchez is still only 22-years-old. It’s been proven that he has the tools succeed, but perhaps has not put it all together.

Containing great bat speed and the strength to provide pitchers with concerns. Being a force in the lineup is appealing to any organization, especially if you get the job done in dire needs. The expected force Sanchez could provide at the major league level is unknown, but should be above former catching prospects of Austin Romine and Montero.

Ultimately, although Sanchez has fallen off – to an extent – he remains persistent in terms of ranking towards the top of the Yankees top prospects. The next step would to put his talent together to finally break through.

Wary Weaknesses:

Although Sanchez has the tools to succeed and perhaps become a prominent player, Sanchez has had his fair share of difficulties. Noted, Sanchez has had off-field issues; in particular when Double-A manager Tony Franklin held Sanchez out of games due to disciplinary reasoning in 2014.

“It was disciplinary action,” Franklin said. “I needed to take care of that today, to get things clarified and cleared up. I’m not going to tell you what it was, but it was a violation of some of our guidelines and I needed to take care of it. Gary is out of there for a couple of days until we decide he deserves to play again, plain and simple” (Peruffo, Trentonia.com).

As a result, maturity, at the time, played an issue.

On the flip side of a catcher’s duty, scouts have stated that he has a strong and effective throwing arm, yet needs to put the intangibles together. A scout, referenced by the New York Post, stated the following.

“[He] needs work behind the plate and [he] needs to catch more games,” the scout said. “His receiving skills need to be refined. [He] boxes pitches, has limited lateral movement. [He] needs to play to smooth out his crudeness behind there” (DeMarzo).

Since the report, Sanchez has improved his ability to throw and looks to continue the improvement.

Although the following weakness is listed, it is not Sanchez’s ability to alter it. In the major leagues currently, the Yankees official depth chart lists the Yankees carrying two catchers in McCann and John Ryan Murphy. Starting catcher McCann is under control through the 2018 season, following his lucrative five-year, $85 million contract with the Yankees in 2013. The question remains, will Sanchez uphold to become, perhaps, the starting catcher for the Yankees one day?

Photo Credit: dugoutview.com

Toronto Blue Jays: Max Pentecost, 22 (Thomas Eurich, Editor)

The Toronto Blue Jays have made a lot of moves during the trade deadline to acquire some real talent in an effort to make a push towards the playoffs. As a reflection of that, their farm system has gone barren, however one player that they have refused to part with is catcher Max Pentecost.

The reason is simple, Russell Martin is growing older and will probably end his career at first base, leaving the Blue Jays with a hole at catcher. Pentecost, who has an estimated time of arrival of 2017, will likely fill that void easily by then.

Strength To Succeed:

Pentecost was drafted for his defense; he has a quick arm that covers a lot of ground and is freakishly athletic behind the plate. His receiving skills leave little to be desired, but young catchers usually have a tough time with that. He is far more advanced in that category than many young catchers are though.

On the offensive side, Pentecost is a good contact hitter with an ability to hit to all sides of the field and has good raw power that he has not fully utilized yet. At this point, his power has turned into more triples and doubles than actual homeruns. But, once he gets to the show, which will be more 2018 than 2017, his home turf will be the Rogers Centre, a huge hitters ballpark which may adapt better to that raw power than some minor league parks will.

Pentecost shows flashes of excellence, despite not having played this entire season thanks to a series of shoulder issues, and did well in Rookie ball and Short Season A-Ball just last year. His slash line last year was a combined .324/.330/.419 in 105 at bats.

Wary Weaknesses: 

Pentecost has looked tremendous for the Blue Jays, but does have his limitations. As stated earlier, establishing his power could provide issues.

As a catcher, Pentecost will have to work on his ability to manage the game. Receiving the ball from the pitcher and framing the pitch has proved to be extremely effective for one’s success in game. Throwing runners out comes into play as well. Working on his accuracy and delivering a smooth throw across the field is crucial to minimize any errors.

In a comparison between Blue Jays’ Pentecost and the Yankees’ Sanchez, Pentecost surely has the advantage due to already featuring similar or better receiving skills than his counterpart and having an overall better hit tool than Sanchez. Sanchez may have the higher home run potential, but Pentecost will draw more walks and less strikeouts than his counterpart and will have a higher average and on-base-percentage because of it.

Who would you take between New York Yankees’ Gary Sanchez or Toronto Blue Jays’ Max Pentecost?