Just 5 Minutes: Eduardo Sanchez Has Huge Week

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Cardinals reliever Eduardo Sanchez has electric stuff. The
 22 year old reliever had a huge week for St. Louis, picking
 up his first win and first save. - Photo coutesy of Getty
St. Louis Cardinals reliever and highly touted pitching prospect Eduardo Sanchez has had quite the start to his major league career. 

The 22 year old Sanchez has started a buzz amongst Cardinals fans who are desperate for the closer's situation to be solved in St. Louis.  Many Cardinals fans believe that Sanchez is the answer. 

And Sanchez did get a chance to close earlier this week, picking up his first career save on Wednesday night.  And on Friday, Sanchez got his first victory in the Cardinals 5-3 win over the Atlanta Braves.

Sanchez tossed the 9th and 10th innings in relief on Friday night, allowing just 1 walk while striking out 3 Braves in his 2 innings.  Sanchez threw just 25 pitches and impressively, 17 of which were for strikes.

Sanchez has power stuff, pure and simple. 

A mid 90's fastball that can touch 97 mph coupled with a devastating slider, this corner of cyber-space compares his stuff to Francisco Rodriguez when he came up with the Anaheim Angels in 2002.

Sanchez's stats to begin the season are absolutely unreal.  He has appeared in 7 games, has posted a 1.80 ERA, and has recorded a strikeout in 17 of the 30 outs he has recorded.  56% of his outs are recorded via the strikeout, unheard of at the major league level.

And while it is unlikely that Sanchez will be able to keep up that pace statistically, he should be able to continue the confident demeanor he has carried on the mound.

Sanchez is not a big man, listed at a generous 5 foot 11 inches and 170 pounds, but he does have a big "positive" attitude.  Sanchez could be accused of taunting as he fires strikes past hitter after hitter and he may need to work on controlling himself a little.  But the kid is nails when it comes down to pressure situations and displays the supreme confidence necessary to be a high quality, high octane reliever at the major league level. 

It is unclear in what capacity manager Tony La Russa will use Sanchez going forward.  The club has not settled on a closer, although it did give Mitchell Boggs the first crack at.

And Sanchez figures to be a closer down the road at some point.  His stuff is that electric.

But at this point in his career and for this Cardinals team, the club would be best off if Boggs can figure out the 9th inning and give Sanchez the 8th, ala K-Rod back in 2002. 

When K-Rod came up for the Angels in 2002, Anaheim won the World Series.

If my comparison to K-Rod is accurate, Cardinals fans can only hope that Sanchez can help propel the Cardinals to some playoff success, in whatever role, in 2011.

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