Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Aaron Sanchez (41) pitches in the bullpen as Blue Jays manager John Gibbons, back, watches during baseball spring training in Dunedin, Fla., on Tuesday, February 24, 2015.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
It is almost inconceivable to measure the weighty hype that has been placed on the slender shoulders of Aaron Sanchez.
He is the second coming of either Jonathan Papelbon or Clayton Kershaw. Take your pick.
"He's got a chance to be one of the better starters in baseball, we all feel," Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons was chirping last month about his 22-year-old right-hander.
That may well be the case – if we ever get the chance to find out.
Sanchez will start here on Tuesday afternoon in the Blue Jays' first game of the Grapefruit League season, against the Pittsburgh Pirates. But don't read too much into that.
It appears likely, once the real games begin in April, that Sanchez will wind up back in the bullpen as the team's closer. It is far easier to stretch a pitcher out and then convert him into a reliever than to do it the other way around.
That could change, especially if fellow rookie Daniel Norris or newcomer Marco Estrada look completely out of place as they battle for the last spot in Toronto's starting rotation.
But if either Norris or Estrada looks at all capable, it will be back to the bullpen for Sanchez, where he made such a strong impression last season.
And besides, the Blue Jays don't really have anybody else to fill the closer role.
Sanchez hardly fits the menacing-closer persona. Clean cut and gangly at 6 foot 4 and 200 pounds, he looks more like Opie Taylor, only taller.
Were Sanchez to slide back into the bullpen, it would be one less roster headache for Gibbons and general manager Alex Anthopoulos to have to worry about.
Sanchez, of course, won't rock the boat just as long as he is collecting a major-league pay stub. Even if he is the closer, he says, he will still show up to the ballpark each day with a starter's mentality.
"That doesn't really leave, because I've done it for so long," Sanchez said. "That's like grade school for me, so I know what I'm doing. It was a little different coming out of the bullpen because it was something new to me. But starting is like riding a bike, just kind of hop on."
Sanchez was Toronto's first-round selection (35th overall) in the 2010 draft, a high school player out of Barstow, Calif., in San Bernardino County. To get a sense of the cosmopolitan feel of Barstow (pop. 22,639), just check out the city's pertinent features as listed by Wikipedia. Under entertainment, the Skyline Drive-In is the first cultural attraction to be mentioned. Under arts and culture, it is noted that Barstow has a series of murals along Main Street. Panda Express, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen and Dunkin' Donuts all make the grade for culinary coolness.
So it was big news there when Sanchez made his big-league debut for the Blue Jays last year, mainly because he is the first person from Barstow to play in big leagues. After the season was over and the pitcher had returned home, Mayor Julie Hackbarth-McIntyre proclaimed Oct. 21 Aaron Sanchez Day in Barstow.
All that is pretty heady stuff for somebody with about two months of major-league service. Imagine what they'll do if he makes the all-star team.
When Sanchez was called up to make his MLB debut for the Blue Jays last July, it was immediately evident he was something special, armed with a high-octane fastball and a devastating curve. Gibbons threw Sanchez to the lions, sending him into action for the first time in the seventh inning in a tight game against the Boston Red Sox.
Veteran Sox sluggers Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz and Mike Napoli were readying to hand Sanchez his lunch. Thirteen pitches later, all three had skulked back to the visitor's dugout after popping out against the rookie.
Over his next 23 games, as he moved into the closer's role, Sanchez was phenomenal, going 2-2 with a 1.09 earned run average, striking out 27 and allowing just 14 hits in 33 innings.
The worry is the sample size is so small. So whether he closes or starts this season, the big question is how he will hold up as opposing batters start to get a better read on him.
"I can't look at him and tell if he's going to be able to last over a full season and go deep into games," veteran Toronto starter Mark Buehrle said when asked about Sanchez's potential. "I mean, you see what he did last year out of the bullpen, so it's kind of hard to picture moving him out of that.
"But again, that's what we're down here [at spring training] for. I'm just glad I'm not in the situation where I've got to make those decisions."