Don't Pounce Early On Anibal Sanchez

Just two seasons ago, Detroit's Anibal Sanchez was one of the more dominant pitchers in the American League. He put together a stellar 2013 campaign, logging a career-high 202 strikeouts and allowing a minuscule 0.4 HR/9 IP. He somehow improved upon his HR/9 numbers in 2014, allowing just 0.3/9 that season. While 2013 and 2014 were incredible for Sanchez in terms of limiting the long-ball, they weren't exactly anomalies: he has turned in a number lower than 1 in that category seven times in his career.

But in 2015 something changed dramatically for Sanchez. He allowed 1.7 HR/9, leading to a whopping 4.73 FIP. His walks went up, his velocity went down, and he stopped using his change-up (a good pitch for Sanchez throughout his career) almost entirely. None of these things bode well for Sanchez, who will turn 32 before this season begins. His career numbers do suggest that last season may have been an outlier, and if that's true then Sanchez could be a nice late-round addition; but if last season was the start of a decline in productivity for the veteran righty, 2016 could be an ugly season.