The suspense must be killing you. Yolmer Sanchez is the first MLB player to what? There are times when a wham, bam, thank you ma’am or sir are in order. You’re on the run and you hear sirens? Perfectly acceptable. You’re at home chillin’ like a…..You hear someone pull into the driveway? Gotta knock it out real quick. Now, I try not to be a selfish person. I like to please. Sometimes it turns into a wham, bam, what the hell was that? But, at least I tried.
Anyways, Sanchez’s full name is Yolmer Carlos Javier Sanchez Yanez. I’m guessing he went with Carlos, as that would make it easier to transition in the USA. I’m kind of curious as to the Sanchez Yanez part? Is his last name Sanchez or Yanez? Now, I’m thinking five pieces of paper were thrown into a hat and then….the magic happened.
So, when the White Sox drafted him in 2009, his name was Carlos Sanchez. At 5′ 10″ 175 pounds, he projected as a utility infielder that would make a living playing solid defense and making contact. Which basically translates to “meh.” Over an eight-year career, he played in 788 games. He never hit more than 10 home runs in any season and often had an average in the .250-.260-ish range. 201 of those games have been at the major league level.
Then, a funny thing happened in 2017. He changed his name to Yolmer. He’s now 195 pounds. And he’s hit 11 home runs in 465 plate appearances. Ok, he’s probably weighed 195 pounds for a while now, but 11 home runs? If that’s not evidence for funny balls, then I don’t know what is. There’s a non-zero chance that it could be the magic of the name hat, though.
So, what to make of Yolmer going forward?
He’s the 34th second baseman on the Razzball Player Rater. Interestingly, he’s not listed at third base, but he does have eligibility there as well.
He’s a switch hitter and hits for a decent average from both sides of the plate. All of his power comes from the left side, though, as 10 of his 11 homers have come from that side. He bats either lead-off or second against righties, but will sit against lefties at times. He’s also stolen eight bases on the season.
.268 average? Not bad. .152 ISO? Not bad. 20% strikeout walk and 6.5% walk rate? Not bad. 10.9% swinging strike rate? Not bad. 35 % O-Swing%? Yuck.
As mentioned above, he does hit righties better, but is still decent against lefties. Just no power. He’s better at home but still hits .260 on the road.
You know what you’re getting from Sanchez and he could be a viable sub for you. The floor seems pretty high, but he’s not winning any leagues. Or is he?
Grey said, “On our last 7-day Player Rater, Sanchez is around that of a top 50 hitter. Sounds schmotatoey to me.”
Who am I to argue with our Supreme Leader?
For those of you that actually remember the question at the beginning of this post, Yolmer is the first player in MLB to have a first name of Yolmer. Riveting I know.
VERDICT
