Does Philadelphia Phillies Breakout Pitcher Deserve All-Star Nod?

Cristopher Sanchez is on a historic run for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Jun 4, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sanchez (61) throws a pitch. / Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Not too long ago, Cristopher Sanchez was just trying to carve out a role on the Philadelphia Phillies' pitching staff. Now, he's fighting for a spot on the NL All-Star team.

Sanchez strengthened his case with another gem on Friday, tossing the first shutout of his career in a 2-0 win over the Miami Marlins. He was untouchable, yielding just three hits (all singles) and no walks while racking up nine strikeouts and throwing 73 of his 101 pitches for strikes.

Friday's masterpiece also marked the first complete game for the 27-year-old lefty, who improved to 6-3 with a 2.41 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP in 93 1/3 innings this season.

While the shutout was the first of Sanchez's career, it was hardly a fluke. It came on the heels of seven scoreless innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks in his previous outing on June 23, making him only the second southpaw in the last 40 years to throw at least 16 innings over two starts without allowing a run, walk or extra-base hit. The other is Los Angeles Dodgers star Clayton Kershaw.

Cristopher Sánchez tonight:

• 9 scoreless innings
• Just 3 hits
• ZERO (0) walks allowed

Make this man an All-Star!pic.twitter.com/6Ipvy3Txd5

— Barstool Philly (@BarstoolPhilly) June 29, 2024

Sanchez has been stellar all season, and he's only getting better. He's allowed fewer than two earned runs in 10 of his 16 starts this year, including six of his last seven. During that seven-start stretch, he has a microscopic 1.42 ERA. He's now allowed just one earned run in 23 innings over his previous three starts combined and has given up just one home run all season.

The numbers speak for themselves. Sanchez has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this year and deserves to make his first All-Star team. His emergence is even more impressive given that he was optioned to the minor leagues 15 times between March 2020 and April 2023.

Sanchez may only be the third or fourth-best starter on his own team behind Ranger Suarez, Zack Wheeler and perhaps Aaron Nola, but it's not his fault the Phillies' rotation has been historically great. He's done more than enough to earn a trip to the Midsummer Classic in Arlington next month.