Philadelphia Phillies: A Look at Cristopher Sanchez’s journey

There is no doubt that Cristopher Sanchez has been one of the most dominant pitchers in Major League Baseball and was recently selected to pitch in the second All-Star Game of his career. He has earned himself larger contracts and has made a big name for himself. He has been by far the Philadelphia Phillies best pitcher this season and has carried this squad on his back for the entire season, and is a main reason the Phillies are turning their season around. 

The two-time all-star has an earned run average of exactly 2.00 and is 10-3 with 136 strikeouts in 117 innings pitched. He did not get here without challenges, from being overlooked to being a two-time All-Star. We now look at what an incredible journey it has been for him to get here. With that being said, we take a look at the journey it took Sanchez to get to this point. 

Sanchez’s Journey to Becoming an All-Star

Sanchez Starts His Journey Young and Overlooked

In July 2013, Sanchez signed as an international free agent with the Tampa Bay Rays at just 16 years old. He signed for a $65,000 bonus to begin his career, but not in the major leagues right away.. Sanchez spent several years in their minor league system and struggled before being traded to the Phillies. With the Princeton Rays in 2017, Sanchez went 1-6 with a 10.01 ERA. This stage of his career, was mainly splitting time between the major and minor league systems. 

Traded to the Phillies, Early Development Stage

On November 20th, 2019, Sanchez was then traded to the Phillies, which opened the door, and this was just the beginning for him. Sanchez then began Phillies training programs but was not able to play in 2020 due to COVID-19. He made his first professional start on June 6th, 2021, and pitched 1 1/2 innings, allowing just one hit and two strikeouts. He spent the season splitting time between the Major League and the minor leagues with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Phillies Triple-A team. In 2023, Sanchez became part of the Phillies’ regular pitching rotation and pitched 19 games, 18 of which were starts. He had a record of 3-5 with a 3.44 ERA and 96 strikeouts. 

He Gets Paid, Now Becomes a Two-Time All-Star

On June 22nd, 2024, Sanchez signed with the Phillies on a four-year, $22.5 million contract extension. On June 28th, he threw his first career complete game shutout and was named the National League pitcher of the month for June. He was then named to the MLB All-Star Game after pitching 31 games and having an 11-9 record and a 3.32 ERA and 153 strikeouts. In 2025, Sanchez faced adversity, not making the All-Star team, but he immediately proved everyone wrong by continuing to get better.

On March 22nd, 2026, Sanchez agreed to a six-year, $107 million contract extension with the Phillies and made sure to make the most of the opportunity. He set the Major League Baseball record for the longest scoreless-innings streak by a left-handed pitcher. Up to today, Sanchez has been selected for his second All-Star Game and ranks third in wins this season, second in ERA, and third in strikeouts (136).  

Main Image: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images