May 18, 2021

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

Once during a rain delay in Kansas City legendary Royals scout Buck O’Neill told me about seeing Bo Jackson hit.

Or rather O’Neill used something other than his eyes.

“I heard the crack of the bat ... what a sound.”

This story is about how finely tuned a major league scouts senses are.

Tim Wilken, former Toronto Blue Jays assistant general manager and scouting director, decided to go for a walk with his wife Sheri in Hammock Park nature preserve in his hometown of Dunedin in mid January.

It was mid-January and a it was a nice night. Dunedin is of course the off-season home of the Blue Jays since 1977 and this year the in-season home. So a Blue Jays sign or logo or ball diamond is never far away.

Where Wilken and his wife walked was roughly nine minutes from the Bobby Mattick complex.

“As we’re walking I hear POW! It sounded like something hitting a mitt,” Wilken said. “The second time I hear POW! Again.”

There were ball fields to their left.

“So we cross the bridge over the trail and someone is throwing on the diamond (Fisher Fields),” said Wilken, who watched the from 150 feet from the plate. The pitcher was getting his throws in, he was not working off the rubber. He was throwing from flat ground. Another guy put down a Rapsodo machine in front.

“The pitcher was getting his throws in, I didn’t want to bother him, I was being respectful they were doing their work,” Wilken said. “He looked very athletic with a 6-foot-4 frame. From a distance I thought ‘This guy’s arm looks real good.’”

The pitcher was on diamond reserved for 18U players. This young man was older. Wilken’s son-in-law and daughter-in-law -- Lauren and Patrick Ehnis -- had walked by and had seen him pitch once as well.

A few days later Wilken received a text.

“Our ex-mail man (Billy Halliday) plays in a 50-to-60 year-old league ... he sent me a note, he had seen this guy throw the mound,” Wilken said. “He told me who he was.”

Now, working for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Wilken called his office to tell them he had seen free agent Aaron Sanchez and how well he looked.

“Our 40-man roster was full and they told me (Sanchez) while Sanchez hadn’t signed yet, he was looking for a major-league deal,” Wilken said. “I had seen him pitch in high school.”

Jays scouting director Andrew Tinnish had his own first round pick, plus three supplemental picks in 2010. The Jays drafted RHP Deck McGuire from Georgia Tech with their own choice, 11th over-all. Then, they took Sanchez, a Barstow, Calif. high schooler, with the 34th pick, Noah Syndergaard, a Mansfield, Tex. high school, 38th and Asher Wojciechowski from The Citadel, 41st.

Sanchez was a supplemental pick for the loss of free agent Marco Scutaro, Syndergaard was for the Jays failing to sign their 2009 sandwich pick and Wojciechowski was for the loss of free agent Rod Barajas.

Wilken knows pitching being the owner of two World Series rings from 1992-93 Blue Jays and one from the 2016 Chicago Cubs. He was heavily involved in evaluating Cy Young Award winners Pat Hentgen and Roy Halladay, who earned the honor with the Jays …. plus Chris Carpenter who won with the St. Louis Cardinals.

And Sanchez played a large role in the Blue Jays ending their 22-year post-season drought in 2015. Sanchez took over the set-up man’s role for Roberto Osuna -- with basically one pitch -- and went 7-6 with a 3.22 ERA in 41 games -- making 11 starts. He struck out 61 in 92 1/3 innings.

Out of the bullpen, he was 2-2 with a 2.39 ERA in 30 appearances as he struck out 19 in 26 1/3 innings. The Jays were eliminated by the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series.

And in 2016 he the best starter in the league -- according to his won-loss record and winning percentage mark -- as he went 15-2 with a 3.00 ERA. He fanned 161 hitters in 192 innings.

The San Francisco Giants signed free agent Sanchez for $4 million US and he has made six starts before going on the injured list. Sanchez is 1-1 with a 3.18 ERA.

He has started against the San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds, Miami Marlins (twice, getting the win in his second outing with five scoreless) and the Colorado Rockies (twice). In his final outing he allowed four runs in four innings before going down with biceps tendinitis.

“It would have made for a good story ... how I ‘Once walked out of my back yard and found a big leaguer,” Wilken said. “It might have the pitching version of Roy Hobbs.”