PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies have known they've had something special in Cristopher Sánchez for a couple of years now.
That's why they gave the left-hander a four-year extension during the 2024 season that includes team options for 2029 and '30. But they'll also be the first to admit that they didn't quite see this coming.
"As much as we like Cristopher," president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said at the time, "I wouldn't be telling you the truth if ... when he first came up -- even though we liked a lot of things about him -- I thought we'd be sitting here today and he would have enjoyed the success he's had. ... What he's accomplished has really been phenomenal.”
Added manager Rob Thomson: "I'd be lying if I said I did, to tell you the truth. His journey has been so remarkable."
Even at that time in June 2024, Sánchez -- who was in the midst of a breakout season -- was still behind Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola and perhaps Ranger Suárez in the Phillies' rotation. But with Wheeler's status for the start of the 2026 season up in the air, Nola coming off an uneven injury-riddled campaign and Suárez still a free agent, Sánchez now finds himself as a potential Opening Day starter.
So, how has Sánchez gone from an erratic hard-thrower to a middle-of-the-rotation arm to one of the top NL Cy Young candidates heading into 2026?
Let's take a look at the three biggest reasons:
The changeup
This one is pretty obvious. Sánchez's changeup has been his go-to offering -- and one of the top pitches in baseball -- for the past few years.
In Sánchez's first full run as a starter in 2023, opponents hit just .148 against his changeup. They hit .177 against it in '24 and .170 in '25. In other words, it's one of the most untouchable pitches in the game.
According to Baseball Savant, Sánchez's changeup has registered a +35 Run Value over the past two seasons -- edging out back-to-back AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal (+33) for the best such mark for any changeup in the Majors.
Over those two seasons, opponents are hitting just .174 (102-for-587) with a .232 slugging percentage against Sánchez's changeup. He's allowed just three home runs despite throwing the pitch 2,082 times. He has 221 strikeouts with it.
The sinker
While Sánchez's changeup is undoubtedly one of the most unhittable pitches in the Majors, it's what he was able to do with his sinker last season that allowed him to take his game to another level.
As mentioned, the changeup has always been an elite offering for Sánchez, but at times, he lacked a complementary pitch to go with it. Even as good as he was in 2024, Sánchez's sinker -- his most-used pitch -- accounted for a -5 run value. Essentially, all of his success that season stemmed from his otherworldly changeup.
But in 2025? Sánchez's sinker was every bit as good as his changeup. The former actually accounted for a +19 Run Value, narrowly edging out his changeup (+18) as his best pitch. No other pitcher in the Majors had multiple pitch types account for more than a +15 Run Value.
Not only has Sánchez added a few ticks to both his changeup and sinker over the past couple of years, but the two pitches -- separated by 9 mph -- look so similar out of his hand that opposing hitters have trouble squaring up anything.
The control
Of course, neither of those pitches would be very effective if Sánchez hadn't figured out the command problems that plagued him early in his career.
Thomson has often referenced the first time he saw Sánchez pitch, noting the southpaw was throwing 98-99 mph, but the ball was “all over the complex.”
In his first year in the Phillies' organization, Sánchez spent the majority of the year with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he averaged 5.9 walks per nine innings. In his limited big league action across 2021-22, he averaged 4.1 walks per nine innings and had just a 2.0 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
In the three seasons since, however, Sánchez averaged just 1.9 walks per nine and put up a 4.4 K/BB ratio.
Put it all together and that's why Sánchez has been able to rack up a 2.89 ERA, 365 strikeouts and only 88 walks over the past two seasons. He's one of just five pitchers with a sub-3.00 ERA, at least 350 strikeouts and fewer than 90 walks during that span.
The others are Zack Wheeler, Skubal, Chris Sale and Paul Skenes.
Not bad company.