Sunday, March 07, 2010
By Chuck Finder, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/
BRADENTON, Fla. -- Count The Legend among those impressed..
Late Friday night, an energetic, wide-eyed rookie stopped and asked for dugout advice about his first at-bat against live pitching in six months. "I said, 'Try to send it the other way,' " Garrett Jones recalled Saturday. "And he hits a missile to center."
So, Tony Sanchez's first steps as a professional Pirate, albeit in spring training, were an all-out sprint. He threw out his first base-runner in his inaugural inning behind the plate. He threw out the first bunt attempt against him. He delivered a 415-foot homer to tie the score in the eighth inning in his first at-bat.
"That's pretty good," Jones said. "He looked like he's been playing for a while."
You hear that quite often around Sanchez. It's a far different chorus than when the Pirates made him the No. 4 overall selection in June, when critics demanded (a.) more of a name player, (b.) more money spent than a $2.5 million bonus or (c.) anything but a Boston College catcher projected by pre-draft publications as a second-rounder, maybe late in the first. The Pirates were enamored of Jorge Anthony Sanchez when they scouted and drafted him, but in almost eight months to the day, they're changing their tune a mite: There's even more to like than they knew then:
• He batted .309 with 48 RBIs in 48 post-draft games with three Pirates affiliates.
• He earned Baseball America's ranking as the 79th-best prospect, with a major league ETA of mid-2011.
• He drew raves in Pirates spring training after his first fortnight around major leaguers.
Peter Diana/Post-Gazette
Tony Sanchez jokes with Lastings Milledge Thursday in Orlando, Fla. The rookie made his debut Friday against Baltimore by homering over the center-field wall.
"He's as advertised," said Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit. "The ball jumps off his bat. You can see the tools. And you can understand why he's as highly touted as he is. I'm excited about him. He won't take long."
"He impressed me," said instructor Manny Sanguillen. "He reminds me of us [old-time catchers]: When we caught the ball, we didn't move. Just sat there. He reminds me something like [Tony] Pena, his style. I think soon he might come to the big leagues."
"Certain guys move [up] a little quicker than others," manager John Russell said. "We'll see how he continues to develop. I think he's got a great head on his shoulders. And he's got talent. I think it's going to take him a long way."
"It's been a lot of fun to watch him feel his way through his first major league spring training and be remarkably respectful but yet believe that he belongs," general manager Neal Huntington said. "And watch him fit on the field handling the bullpens. Watch him fit on the field as he swings the bat. Watch him fit as he walks around camp. He'd be the first one to say he's got some development left. It's been enjoyable to watch him."
Development and advancement, that's the popular refrain. It's what brings Sanchez, 21, here: the usual spring-training invite for the first-round pick and an impending assignment to start his first, full pro season with the Bradenton Marauders, the advanced-Class A team that won a 2009 title in Lynchburg.
"Still learning new things every day. Just having fun," Sanchez said. "Being able to take batting practice with these guys and catch bullpens -- catch [Paul] Maholm's and [Zach] Duke's and [Kevin] Hart's and all these guys' bullpens. That kind of caught me off guard. I guess I never really did think about it, that I'd be practicing with guys that are on the big league squad. Now that I'm doing it, it's awesome. It has given me a chance to get better and learn.
"Everyone here can tell you something. Players, coaches, instructors -- they all have something to teach you, they all know everything. They know a lot more than I do. I'm still learning who throws what and what everyone has. That's a process in itself. And that takes time. We got so many signs that we need to know. We got man-on-second signs. We got first-and-third defense. We got bunt plays and pickoff plays. ..."
He offered his ever-present smile. "Then we got signs on hitting -- I still haven't even learned those."
A gap-to-gap hitter, Sanchez may eventually "exceed some expectations with the bat," Huntington said. His catching and throwing already are close to major league caliber. Where he needs the most experience as he bumps along from Bradenton to Class AA Altoona to Class AAA Indianapolis this year and next: games.
"The biggest thing for Tony is going to be the game-calling," Huntington said. "College catchers don't call games anymore. He showed a great feel for it last year. But as you gather that experience -- to recognize swings, to recognize game situations, to recognize when a pitcher has it or doesn't have it that day, like 'today's a good breaking-ball day for Zach' -- the intricacies of game-calling are something that's going to take time and some experience. He's intelligent and passionate about learning."
The folks who pooh-poohed the Pirates for selecting him fourth overall, Sanchez said, "it kind of fueled the fire, yeah. There are always going to be doubters, and you're always going to have critics. If you just go out there and play the game, you'll end up having them on your side. It just takes time."
His time to work a Grapefruit League game came in the sixth inning Friday night against Baltimore in Sarasota, and he was not even expecting to play. He admitted, "My helmet was shaking, my knees were twitching."
Once minor league base-thief Jonathan Tucker singled with two out, Sanchez mused to home-plate umpire Damien Beal: "He's going to run. I'm going to have to throw this guy out." Beal's response: "You better." And Sanchez did, with ease.
Then came the eighth, when he fell behind minor leaguer Troy Patton 0-2 and fouled off a few pitches before working the count to 2-2. Then, Sanchez said, "he threw me one in my zone, and I didn't even feel it."
Taped above Sanchez's locker at McKechnie Field is an autographed card Doumit gave him early in camp, inscribed: "Some day, kid."
Friday was some day for him.
"I'll take it," Sanchez said, grinning, the morning after.
And go where from here?
NOTES -- Andrew McCutchen, 2 for 2 at the plate and 1 for 2 on the basepaths, aims to steal more bases this year. "Yeah, we'd like for him to be able to run more, get himself in scoring position," Russell said after a 3-3 tie with Philadelphia Saturday. ... Infielder Ramon Vazquez played his first game since right knee surgery in November and turned a neat double play at second. "He moved pretty well, so that's a good sign," Russell said. . . Fifth-starter candidate Kevin Hart issued four walks and one hit for two earned runs.
Chuck Finder: cfinder@post-gazette.com.
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