Why Juan Sánchez’s Surprising Rise to No. 41 Could Change Everything in the Community Prospect List

Spring has sprung, and baseball fever is hitting hard. The San Francisco Giants—like every squad ready to make a splash this season—have been grinding it out in Scottsdale, getting real reps under their belt for over a week now. With their first Cactus League showdown set for Saturday, anticipation is building. Over here at McCovey Chronicles, we’re inching closer to wrapping up our Willie McCovey Memorial Community Prospect List — an ambitious project where we collectively rank the top 44 up-and-coming talents in the Giants’ farm system. This isn’t just another list; it’s a snapshot of promise, potential, and the players who could soon be shaping the future of Giants baseball. Curious to dive deeper? LEARN MORE

For the final time this year, it’s nomination day! Head to the comment section to nominate some prospects for Friday’s CPL.

Baseball is in the air. The San Francisco Giants, like all teams, are fully in the spring swing, as they’ve been playing real baseball activities in Scottsdale for over a week now. On Saturday, they’ll play their first Cactus League game of the year. Meanwhile, over here at McCovey Chronicles, we’ve nearly finished our Willie McCovey Memorial Community Prospect List, in which we’ll work together to rank the top 44 prospects in the Giants organization.

Our next name is a player we just might see in that aforementioned Saturday game, as he’s in camp as a non-roster invitee: it’s left-handed reliever Juan Sánchez, who earns the vote as the No. 41 prospect in the system. That’s a drop of eight spots for Sánchez, who came in at No. 33 last year.

It’s been a long and winding road for Sánchez, who is one of the longest tenured players in the organization. Despite having only recently turned 25, Sánchez is entering his 10th year with the Giants, after signing in international free agency in 2017 out of Venezuela. That said, it’s only his seventh year actually pitching: he didn’t pitch in 2017 due to the timing of the DSL schedule and the international signing period back then; he didn’t throw in 2020 as Minor League Baseball was cancelled due to Covid; and he lost all of 2025 while recovering from Tommy John surgery.

But when he has pitched, the crafty southpaw has been quite successful. After a brief stint as a starter, Sánchez started to rise the ranks as a reliever starting in 2021. He really took off in 2023, when he posted a 2.39 ERA and a 3.17 FIP with AA Richmond, despite being nearly two-and-a-half years younger than the average pitcher in the Eastern League. He ended the year by holding his own in AAA Sacramento as a 22-year old, where he was more than five years younger than his peers.

Questions persisted about Sánchez’s ability to get outs at the Major League level, as he didn’t possess too much heat with his fastball. But he showed up to his first Spring Training in 2024 looking like a new man, with a notable uptick in velocity, and results that opened eyes. Sánchez was the talk of camp at times and, were it not for roster logistics — he wasn’t on the 40-man roster, and Rule 5 protection Erik Miller was — he might have made the Opening Day roster.

Instead, he returned to Sacramento for some more seasoning, and the red flags immediately started to wave. While he had a 3.93 ERA (very respectable for the Pacific Coast League), Sánchez struggled with control in a way we’d never seen before, issuing 28 walks in 34.1 innings. Soon, a scary explanation for the lack of control was given, as the southpaw hit the Injured List with elbow soreness. Not long after, it was announced that he needed Tommy John surgery, which ended his 2024 and his 2025 at the same time.

But now he’s healthy. While Sánchez didn’t get on the field for the 2025 season, he did end the year with a stint in the Arizona Fall League, where he posted a 2.70 ERA in seven appearances. Most importantly, Sánchez walked just four batters in 10 innings, while striking out 11.

He’s back in camp for a second time, and once again hoping to beat out the competition and earn a spot on the Opening Day roster. Whether or not that happens, odds are good that Sánchez — if he stays healthy — will see his nearly decade-long journey in professional baseball finally result in the ultimate prize sometime this year: a Major League debut.

Now let’s add to the list, and a reminder that today is nomination day. Both nominations and voting take place in the comment section, using the “rec” feature.

The list so far

Note: Clicking on the above names will link to the CPL where they were voted onto the list.

No. 42 prospect nominees

Sabin Ceballos — 23.5-year old 3B — .670 OPS/102 wRC+ in AA (420 PA)

Reggie Crawford — 25.2-year old LHP — did not pitch in 2025; 1.04 ERA/4.07 FIP in AAA in 2024 (8.2 IP); 4.66 ERA/4.93 FIP in AA in 2024 (9.2 IP)

Charlie Szykowny — 25.7-year old 3B/1B — .816 OPS/122 wRC+ in High-A (549 PA)

Jancel Villarroel — 21.0-year old C — .699 OPS/91 wRC+ in High-A (61 PA); .746 OPS/123 wRC+ in Low-A (372 PA)

Note: Each player’s first name links to their Baseball-Reference page, and their last name links to their Fangraphs page. All stats are from the 2025 season.