23-year-old Sixto Sánchez Encarnación was born on July 29, 1998, he is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB).
The Philadelphia Phillies happened upon Sánchez when they saw him throwing batting practice at a workout for a Cuban catcher the Phillies were scouting in 2014. He signed with the Phillies for a $35,000 signing bonus as an international free agent in February 2015.
He made his professional debut as a pitcher that year with the Dominican Summer League Phillies. He had a 1–2 win-loss record with a 4.56 earned run average. He pitched in 2016 with the Rookie Gulf Coast Phillies.
He was 5–0 (tied for 4th in the Gulf Coast League in wins) with an 0.50 ERA, a WHIP of 0.759, and a 5.50 strikeout-to-walk ratio. At 17 years of age, his fastball was 97-98 mph.
He was named both a Baseball America Rookie All-Star, and a Gulf Coast League Post-Season All-Star. Baseball America named him the Number 80 prospect in baseball.
On August 20, 2020, Sánchez was promoted to the major leagues. He made his major league debut on August 22 and notched his first career win. Sánchez completed the season with a 3-2 record, and a 3.46 ERA over 39 innings.
On October 2, 2020, Sánchez made his postseason debut, going for 5 innings, while allowing no earned runs. Sánchez received a single vote in National League Rookie of the Year voting, tying him for seventh place with Ian Anderson and Andrés Giménez.
On July 5, 2021, Sánchez underwent season-ending surgery after an MRI revealed a small tear in the posterior capsule of his right shoulder. He did not make any appearances for the Marlins organization in 2021 due to the injury.