Tampa Bay Rays Jesse Sanchez moving up the prospect board

Jesse Sanchez was already considered to be one of the Tampa Bay Rays top prospects. With his strong showing thus far in 2017, he is now being considered one of the top prospects in baseball.

Heading into the 2017 campaign, Jesus Sanchez was considered the seventh overall prospect in the Tampa Bay Rays system by mlb.com. He was looked upon as one of the steals of his international signing period, a multi-tool player who has the potential to develop into a middle of the lineup hitter. Ticketed for the Bowling Green Hot Rods, despite being just 19 years old, his future certainly seemed bright.

This year, Sanchez has exploded. No longer a player who looked like a top of the lineup hitter, he has belong that middle of the order run producer. Through 70 games, Sanchez has produced a stellar .303/.348/.488 batting line, hitting 10 homers and 15 doubles. He has also flashed a bit of speed, as he is a perfect four for four in stolen base attempts.

Rays fans are not the only ones to take notice. BaseballAmerica.com put out their list of the top 101 prospects at the midway point, with five members of the Rays on the list. Sanchez is one of those Rays selected, coming in as the 100th ranked prospect.

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It is a worthy selection, as the power projections for Sanchez have begun to come true. He has already set career highs in homers, doubles, and total bases, and is on pace to completely annihilate those marks. Of course, with the way he is hammering the Midwest League presently, it would not be a surprise if Sanchez received a promotion to Charlotte by the end of this season.

Obviously, it is still early in his development. As impressive as Sanchez has looked this season, minor league history is littered with those players who performed well in the lower minors, but were unable to continue that success in the upper levels. However, given his improvements this year, Sanchez could be well on his way to an excellent career with the Rays in the future.

Next: Archer named to All Star team

Jesse Sanchez is moving up the Tampa Bay Rays prospect charts with his production this season. The rankings have taken notice, as Sanchez is now considered the 100th best prospect in the game according to Baseball America.