It's been an odd one for Aaron Sanchez. The 24-year-old has turned his first full-season as a starting pitcher into a Cy Young-caliber campaign as the Blue Jays vie for a second consecutive AL East title. Despite the personal and team success, Sanchez currently finds himself in the minors as the Jays try to limit his innings as much as possible. How many Cy Young contenders can say they were sent to Single-A in August? Not many. 

 

Sanchez has a dominant 2015 season as a reliever

After spending the first two months of the 2015 season in the rotation (5-4 with a 3.55 ERA in 11 starts), Sanchez was placed on the disabled list in mid-June. He missed over a month with the injury and found himself in the bullpen upon his return at the end of July. That's where he really brought his A-game. Sanchez pitched 25.4 innings as a reliever over 30 games last season and lowered his total ERA to a sharp 3.22. He pitched in nine games during the Jays' playoff run and did not allow an earned run. Sanchez pitched a total of 92.1 innings in 2015, almost 60 more than his rookie campaign the year before. 

 

Back in rotation to start 2016

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After his standout season as reliever in 2015, there was plenty of discussion in Spring Training on whether or not Sanchez was more valuable in bullpen or rotation. Teammate Marcus Stroman definitely made his opinion known.

"Starter, 100 per cent. Everything we've done this year was for that," Stroman said earlier in the off-season. "We didn't work out twice a day for two months for him to be a reliever. He's 100 per cent ready to go out there and go seven, eight, nine innings every five days."

Stroman and Sanchez got their wish. The Jays' brass put him in the starting five with the caveat that he could be moved to the pen at some point during the season. 

He got his first start of 2016 on the road against the Tampa Bay Rays, pitching seven innings of five-hit ball and allowed just one earned run in the no decision. Sanchez would have another solid performance in his next start, allowing one run on just three hits. He picked up his first win against the Boston Red Sox on April 17, allowing just one run once again on two hits. After a shaky start against the Oakland Athletics, Sanchez found his groove and has been one of the best pitchers in baseball ever since.

 

First All-Star Appearance

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Sanchez posted a sparkling 9-1 record with a 2.94 ERA over the first half of the season and was named to his first All-Star team as a replacement for Red Sox hurler Craig Kimbrel. He threw one inning, allowing one earned run on a couple hits and a walk.

Not a great performance, but definitely a memorable experience for the young pitcher.

 

Inning limit debate heats up in second half

As Sanchez continued to throw smoke and rack up the innings following the All-Star break, the debate on whether or not Sanchez should be taken out of the rotation got more and more serious. 

Team president Mark Shapiro and general manger Ross Atkins felt that their young ace could be in danger of flaming out and seriously hurting himself as he's never pitched this many innings in his career. On the other hand, you can't afford to bench a healthy Cy Young contender in the middle of a pennant race especially when the future in Toronto looks ominous past this season. 

Sanchez's numbers are hard to ignore. He did not record a loss over a three month span from May to July and is now 12-2 with a 2.99 ERA and 132 strikeouts over 156.1 innings. ESPN has him sixth on their MLB Cy Young Predictor.

If he remains in the rotation, Sanchez is projected to throw over 200 innings (more than double from last year).  

 

Jays add Liriano and announce six-man rotation

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Toronto picked up started Francisco Liriano at the Trade Deadline and surprised many a few days later by announcing Sanchez would stay in the rotation for the time being as part of a six-man group. 

"I think what changed for us, a couple of things: input from more people, one of those people being Francisco Liriano, who was open to anything and everything," Atkins explained. "That opened things up for us to think about things differently. And then talking to Aaron about it and how strongly he felt about staying in the rotation, that fortunately we're in a situation where we're able to do it."

Despite less starts with the six-man group, the general manager reiterated Sanchez would not be overworked.

Phillips: Jays can manipulate schedule to benefit Sanchez

TSN Baseball analyst joins OverDrive to discuss #LochteGate, Sanchez staying in the rotation, the injuries to Donaldson and Tulowitzki, and predictions for the AL playoff race.

"I think what we're going to do is really try to work with Aaron to give this team the best chance to win. We do have thresholds that would be uncomfortable. There's not a scenario where he pitches 220, 230 innings," he said. "He's going to go into a territory that's uncomfortable and uncommon and he's comfortable with that. We've worked together on what that range or territory should be but there's so many variables that will contribute to what's best for him and this team."

 

August struggles and minor-league stint

Sanchez hasn't really been himself since the six-man rotation became a thing for the Blue Jays. Over three starts, he's 1-1 with a 5.29 ERA including a rough four-inning performance agaist the Cleveland Indians. Some believe giving a pitcher an extra day to rest might do more harm than good as it could throw off their routine. Here's a look at how the other Jays starters have fared since going with six starters. 

 
 

Is it working out?

Pitcher Record ERA Strikeouts Innings
Aaron Sanchez 1-1 (three starts) 5.29 14 17
Marcus Stroman 1-1 (three starts) 2.1 21 18.2
J.A. Happ 2-0 (two starts) 2.75 16 13.1
Marco Estrada 0-1 (two starts) 7 8 9
R.A. Dickey 0-1 (two starts) 4.95 9 9.1
Francisco Liriano 0-1 (three starts) 3.57 16 17.2

Sanchez was sent down to Single-A Dunedin on Sunday as a way to limit his innings the rest of the way.

"We've talked a lot about this over the year," Atkins said of the decision. "Not just over the last month, but as good as Aaron has become, we all along thought at some point we'll have to manage his workload. That's what this is about. He'll come right back in the rotation."

Griffin: Sanchez demotion makes no sense

Toronto Star baseball columnist, Richard Griffin joins Matt Cauz to chat about Blue Jays losing series in Cleveland, Aaron Sanchez being sent to Dunedin, and Toronto pushing towards playoffs.

Sanchez knows this move is not a demotion and is expected to pitch against the Baltimore Orioles on Aug. 31.

"Making this move was something we tried to stay away from, talking about innings being a concern," he said. "I still have to get ready. It's not like my season's over. It's normal work when I go down there. Nothing changes for me."