Pirates Tony Sanchez comes into Bradenton with plenty to prove.

If you ever want a good laugh, go check out Tony Sanchez on Twitter.  The Pirates first-round pick from their dismal 2009 Major League Draft was the fourth overall pick.  Almost daily a few Twitter tough guys remind Sanchez of that fact–every time it happens– Sanchez lets it all bounce off him like that baseball (and that sucker punch) that broke his jaw.

The guy is always honest, self-deprecating, and available for comment.

Sanchez has appeared on the RumBunter podcast,  saw blows come his way, and when slumping tweeted he couldn’t hit a beachball with a tennis racket.   Yeh, he’s never afraid to share his thoughts.

Sanchez is the feature in todays Bradenton.com article, and it’s a pretty good one.   Sanchez is always honest and proves it with this quote:

“Most top-five picks are in the majors already (within four years), and obviously I have not made the big leagues so I am in the back half of those percentages. But I am still young. It’s my own fault for not hitting.”

Martin will be headed to play for Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic which will allow Sanchez to spend more time with the pitching staff and get some more hacks at the plate.  It’s a window of opportunity.  Something says the Boston College product will give it everything he’s got.

Let’s trust that’s enough.

Here is the interview Cocktails did with Sanchez back in April 2011:

Non-stop Tony Sanchez took some time this week to talk with Cocktailsfor2

Author: Cocktailsfor2

ALTOONA, PA

You know a lot about Tony Sanchez already. Born May 20, 1988, in Miami… Oldest of two children… All-County three times in high school… Led Boston College in BA, H, HR, RBI, SLG and OPS as a Sophomore… As a Junior, finalist for the Johnny Bench Award, first BC player named to the All-ACC first team, threw out the most runners in the ACC, had 22 multi-hit games…First Round Draft Pick, #4 overall… batted .309 with 48 RBIs in 48 post-draft games with three Pirates affiliates his first year as a pro…Broken jaw, missed a large part of last season, drank Chef Boyardee through a straw…

What you may not know about Tony is that he is relentless. In his first MLB camp with the Pirates, he told Chuck Finder [about people and pundits who took the team to task for selecting him fourth overall],”It kind of fueled the fire, yeah. There are always going to be doubters, and you’re always going to have critics. If you just go out there and play the game, you’ll end up having them on your side. It just takes time.”

Pirates’ President Frank Coonelly said of Tony, “[W]e are extremely excited about Tony Sanchez and what he brings to the organization. He is a tremendous leader with an outstanding work ethic and high character.”

Even earlier this year here at Rumbunter, Tom said, “Remember, this guy worked his ass off to soar up the draft boards when he was in Boston College. It doesn’t appear he has stopped working since.”

In talking to Tony Sanchez, you get the feeling that he’s out to accomplish something, and he isn’t going to sit still and wait for that something to come to him. He speaks all in a rush – unhesitatingly, as if he’s grabbing the words out of the air and throwing them out with the ease that he grabs a Bryan Morris fastball and fires it to second to snare an attempting base stealer.

And Tony’s as exciting to speak to as he is to watch as a player: sharp, focused, but always, always, having fun. Even if you can’t see him, you can hear the smile on his face as he speaks. His laughter comes easy, and his excitement for the game – and life in general – is always right beneath the surface, ready to come up and overtake him if not held in (loose) check. I spoke with Tony last week before an Altoona Curve home game. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.

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The RumBunter Podcast  welcomes Kyle McPherson, Tony Sanchez, and General Manager Neal Huntington to the show.

You can download the podcast here.

Listen as our favorite double black belt, Kyle McPherson talks about pitching to a boyhood idol during his recent time in the majors.

You don’t want to miss the self declared #FanFavorite, Tony Sanchez, discuss his rise to the Triple-A level in 2012.  (He makes us laugh out loud repeatedly during the interview and even sticks around to speak with McPherson after he says he could kick his ass.)

Neal Huntington answers the question we pose about A.J. Burnett being the lone man to jump the railing during the Brandon Phillips and Jared Hughes confrontation.   The Bucs GM also discusses what the team was doing to prepare to turn around the losses that were piling up for the Buccos.  Huntington talks about just how much extra work the Bucs are doing in advance to determine how teams will attack them down the stretch.

A big shoutout to MVP Adam who puts it all together each week.  You might have noticed the host with the most Cocktailsfor2 and Adam pimping at Wrigley Field last weekend after the podcast was recorded.

Cocktails was the fistbumper and we can’t help but ask, did the magic bump contribute to the recent power surge of  Clint Barmes?  Think about it…did Clint Barmes find his superpower from the host with the most?  We think it certainly helped.

September 6:  The Indianapolis Indians placed Tony Sanchez on the disabled list and recalled Miguel Perez from Double-A Altoona.  Sanchez started the first game of the Indians playoff series and batted twice, but was replaced by the toy cannon Ramon Cabrera.   Sanchez had suffered a broken toe toward the end of the Indians season.

In the second playoff game Cabrera made the start, while last night Perez caught for Filthy Phil Irwin , who was dominant.

It has to be a frustrating way for Sanchez to end his season,  but the Pirates first rounder doesn’t let it impact his funny twitter feed:

It would appear that Sanchez could be done for the year.  He started the season at Double-A Altoona, where he hit  .277 (39-for-141) with 22 runs, 14 doubles, 17 RBI and 18 walks over 40 games.

If you were to look at just his last 23 games, Tony Montana batted .366 (15-for-41) while posting the second best OBP in the Eastern League at .447.  That streak, and his work with the Altoona pitchers, got him a ticket to Triple-A Indianapolis on June 4.

Sanchez started slowly at the plate, but started hitting like a man again when he crushed three straight homers from July 2-6.   So, after hitting no homers in his first 57 games combined between Altoona and Indianapolis in 2012, he hit six in 23 games during the month of July with Indianapolis.

Here are Sanchez’s numbers below -  with the Pirates catching tandem in such a bad way, it’s time to light that candle for Sanchez.  We trust he can play some ball over the winter and get things in order to take charge in 2013.  The Pirates need Sanchez in a big way… or  maybe it’s just we who are astounded at the play of the catching tandem in Pittsburgh?