Marlins' patience wearing thin after another 'unacceptable' Sixto Sánchez first inning

Marlins catcher Christian Bethancourt said it perfectly after Sunday’s 7-3 loss to the New York Mets: “(Sixto Sánchez) gets in trouble in the first inning, and after that, he pitches like Pedro Martinez."

Okay, maybe the Pedro comparison is a step too far, but you get the sentiment. Since being inserted into the Marlins rotation at the beginning of May, Sánchez has been brutal to begin most of his starts before settling down into a solid pitcher from the second inning onward.

In Sánchez’s most recent start Sunday, he needed 40 pitches to get out of the first inning. The 25-year-old gave up four runs in the first frame that lasted just under 20 minutes. Sánchez would pitch three more innings, allowing zero runs, three hits and one walk on 45 just pitches.

In his five starts this year, Sánchez is sporting a 19.80 ERA in the first inning. In innings two through four, he’s recorded a combined 1.98 ERA with three total walks.

Marlins manager Skip Schumaker, who is usually a staunch defender of all of his players when speaking to the media, gave a public challenge to Sanchez after Sunday’s loss.

“That's unacceptable in the first inning,” Schumaker said. “So, if he wants to start at this level, he's going to have to be better in the first inning. It just is what it is."

This is the first season Sánchez has pitched at the major league level since 2020 when he was the top prospect in the Marlins' system. In March 2021, he suffered a right shoulder injury. A pair of surgeries and numerous setbacks related to that kept him out of action until last year when he threw a single inning with Double-A Pensacola.

Schumaker said he and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. spoke with Sánchez underneath the stands after his rough first inning. Following a trend that has plagued him in past starts this year, Sanchez came out of the gate with a fastball sitting in the high 80s before ramping it up to the mid 90s later on. Schumaker said he asked Sánchez if he was feeling healthy, to which Sánchez said yes. That’s when Schumaker challenged the right-handed pitcher to show him that he can be better. 

But the deficit was already too much.

“At this level, it's tough to come back from four runs every single time,” Schumaker said. “And he's not giving his teammates a chance to win.”

Sánchez also hasn’t been inducing the swing-and-miss stuff that he was known for before his injuries, in large part because of the lack of separation in velocity from his secondary pitches. Per Baseball Savant, Sánchez's whiff rate has been cut in half from 24.7% in 2020 to 12.8% this season.

“If you don't have swing-and-miss at this level, then you have to be elite on the ground,” Schumaker said. “You have to produce all kinds of ground balls. He's been about league average or just above league average with that, which is really good. But you know, not many guys are gonna swing and miss at this level at 87 (miles per hour) because everything else kind of blends.”

Schumaker was asked, specifically, if the team is able to identify or explain why Sánchez falters so much in the first. But he is just as confused as everybody else.

“Ask him. I'd love to know,” Schumaker said. “Because we tried more pitches in the bullpen, we've tried less pitches in the bullpen; we've tried more in the weight room, less in the weight room; more in the training room, less in the training room. So we have to figure it out, collectively. I've said this before. The changes that we're trying to do are not working, so we have to keep trying to find something.”

While Schumaker still believes in Sánchez, time may be running out for what was once the most electric prospect the Marlins had.

“I'm not going to give up on him,” Schumaker said. “We're not going to give up on him. But he's not a top prospect anymore. Like, it's time to go. If he wants to start, he's gotta figure this part out.”

Sánchez told the media that he believes it has to do with his arm positioning and having a better warm-up routine. But whatever it is, there doesn’t seem to be a simple answer.

“I think it's just about that first inning, making sure that I'm giving my team an opportunity to win,” Sánchez said. “I think it's something that I have to be prepared to go out there and compete. And that's what I'm going to keep trying to do.”

Sánchez's rotation spot is due up next on Saturday against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Down in Triple-A Jacksonville, right-handers Max Meyer and Roddery Muñoz—both of whom made starts for the Marlins earlier this season—would both be fully rested and eligible to be recalled if the club chooses to make a change.