This Monday, MiLB announced the best players of the week from the 2nd to the 8th of this month at their respective levels. In the Eastern League, a circuit at the Double-A level, right-hander Rafael Sánchez was selected as the pitcher of the week.
The Cuban pitches for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, a farm team in the Toronto Blue Jays minor leaguesystem. Sánchez recorded the fourth no-hitter in Fisher Cats franchise history in Saturday’s game, June 7, against the Altoona Curve (Pittsburgh Pirates). It was a seven-inning game in which he walked the entire pitch. He struck out two, walked two, and was hit by a pitch.
Sánchez joined Jamie Vermilyea and Kyle Drabek as the only Fisher Cats pitchers to toss a no-hitter. Saturday’s outing was Sánchez’s third complete game in a New Hampshire uniform; no other pitcher has recorded more than one this season. The Holguín , Cuba native is the second Fisher Cats player to win Player of the Week honors in 2025, the other was Jace Bohrofen (April 14-20). He is the first pitcher from the team to be bestowed this honor since right-handers CJ Van Eyk (May 6-12) and Michael Dominguez (May 27-June 2), who won in 2024.
Sánchez signed a free agent contract with Toronto in May 2022. That same year, he ended up pitching in Double-A after beginning the year at the Rookie level in the Dominican Republic and Florida. In 2023, he split his season between Class A and A+ ball, and a year later (2024), he returned to Advanced A ball and also made four starts in Double A (2-1, 2.28 ERA, .200 OAVG). He returned to Double A in 2025 and has already made 11 starts this season at the level. He currently has a 2-3 record with a 4.91 ERA (47.2 IP; 26 ER) and 34 strikeouts on the season.