Ali Sanchez Becomes 10th Fireflies Player in Majors

2017-18 backstop makes debut for Mets Monday against the Nationals

By John Kocsis Jr.

August 11, 2020

Columbia, S.C. – Former Fireflies catcher Ali Sanchez made his Major League debut for the New York Mets Monday night, entering the game against the Nationals as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning. Sanchez is the 10th Fireflies player to make it to the show. The 23-year-old spent the

Columbia, S.C. – Former Fireflies catcher Ali Sanchez made his Major League debut for the New York Mets Monday night, entering the game against the Nationals as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning. Sanchez is the 10th Fireflies player to make it to the show.

The 23-year-old spent the 2017 and part of the 2018 season in Columbia. In 2018 he played 50 games, hit .259 drove in 22 RBI. While behind the dish, Sanchez threw out 39 of 84 (46.4 percent) of runners who attempted to steal.

MLB.com ranks the Venezuela-native as the Mets 17th-best prospect. He was named a DSL Mid-Season All-Star in 2014 while playing for the DSL Mets1. Last season, Sanchez split time in AA and AAA, and in 92 games, earned a .326 on-base percentage.

Sanchez is the fourth former-Firefly to debut in the majors this season, joining Andres Gimenez, Blake Taylor and David Peterson.

For more information on former Fireflies, visit columbiafireflies.com.