S¨¢nchez displaying newfound velocity ... but is it too much?

This story was excerpted from Todd Zolecki¡¯s Phillies Beat newsletter. This edition of the newsletter was written by Paul Casella. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Cristopher Sánchez is throwing the ball hard this spring. Like, really hard.

As crazy as it sounds, is it maybe too hard?

His sinker averaged 96.9 mph in his March 2 outing. On Friday, it averaged 97.0 mph.

This velocity is coming from a guy whose fastball averaged 94.5 mph last season. S¨¢nchez has thrown six pitches of 98.0 mph or faster over the past week. He had one all of last season.

So, is there any concern that he's actually throwing too hard out of the gate?

"I think there is always a little bit," manager Rob Thomson said. "But he's really shown that he can handle it. I remember last year, he had a complete game, and the next day, he was throwing foul pole to foul pole long toss. He's just got that rubber arm and he's strong -- just a great athlete."

• S¨¢nchez eager to impress in second year as starter

S¨¢nchez has added velocity to each of his pitches this spring, and while many starters gradually up their velocity throughout the spring, he's showing it off from the jump. It's also worth noting that he's coming off pitching a career-high 186 2/3 innings (including the postseason) in 2024.

But S¨¢nchez isn't at all worried about emptying the tank too early.

"Everything is feeling good," S¨¢nchez said via team interpreter Diego D'Aniello. "We keep working and we're still focused. But I'm healthy, which is the most important thing."

Making this drastic leap in velocity all the more impressive is the fact that S¨¢nchez already made a similar jump last year. His sinker averaged 94.5 mph in 2024, up from 92.1 mph in '23.

Not only did that increased velocity obviously help S¨¢nchez's sinker last year, but it turned his already good changeup into the best changeup in the big leagues according to Run Value.

So, what could adding yet another couple miles per hour do for S¨¢nchez's ceiling?

"Who knows? I mean, really, who knows?¡± Thomson said. ¡°Right now, it's just filthy."

At the same time, the Phillies won't be scrambling if S¨¢nchez's velocity ultimately regresses a bit toward last year's metrics. After all, he had a breakout season in 2024, going 11-9 with a 3.32 ERA, two complete games and one shutout, all while earning his first career All-Star nod and finishing 10th in NL Cy Young Award voting.

"Now, if he loses a little bit and he's 94, 95, we've seen that he's good with that," Thomson said. "So yeah, I'm really impressed by him."

Asked if those velocity numbers might also be inflated by throwing fewer pitches in these shorter spring outings, S¨¢nchez said he's not even focused on what the radar gun says when he takes the mound.

"If I said that it was going to be like that [all season], then I would be lying -- because I don't think about that when I'm pitching," he said. "I don't focus on those things. I just go out and compete and get my pitches in and command the strike zone as best I can.

"If the velo is there, perfect. But if it's not there, then I'll just go out and attack."

Easy to say for a guy with an elite changeup and a sinker that only seems to get faster every year -- but that's not all.

While S¨¢nchez relies primarily on that sinker (47.3% usage rate last season) and changeup (35.7%) combo, his slider (16.9%) emerged as another plus pitch down the stretch.

He hopes to utilize it even more in 2025.

"There's always something to work on," S¨¢nchez said. "In my case right now, it's the slider. That's the goal right now."