"That's very exciting for him, for us," head athletic trainer Todd Tomczyk said. "The amount of work that this young man has put in to this point is unexplainable."
Casey Sadler and Brandon Cumpton, two other right-handers who had Tommy John surgery in the fall of 2015, may not be far behind Sanchez. Sadler is scheduled to pitch in a game later this week, and Cumpton -- further slowed by a shoulder surgery after the reconstructive elbow procedure -- has progressed to throwing off the slope of the mound.
"All those three guys are making really good strides," Tomczyk said.