Sanchez got touched up in his first start of the spring, giving up five runs (two earned) and four hits across 1.1 innings and a three-run home run to Pedro Alvarez in the Blue Jays' 8-7 loss to the Pirates on Tuesday. Sanchez is fighting for the fifth spot in the rotation; however, he has significantly more fantasy value as a closer. Out of the pen last season, Sanchez was lights out, carrying an ERA of 1.09 and a whip of 0.70 in 33 innings of relief. If Sanchez can't crack the rotation, he should supplant Brett Cecil in the closer role, where he will be one of the better options in the American League.

Sanchez will start the Blue Jays' first spring training game, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet reports. Sanchez's role with the Blue Jays is still unclear, but the decision of whether he will be in the rotation or the bullpen will reportedly come by mid-March. His two potential outcomes would be a closer in the bullpen or the fifth starter in the Blue Jays' rotation. He serves more value in fantasy as the former, but it looks as though success in spring training starts could lead to a role as a starter.

The decision on whether Sanchez will be used as a starter or a reliever this season will be made by mid-March, MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm reports. The Blue Jays will want to give Sanchez time to work out of the bullpen in the second half of spring training if that is indeed the role he will occupy on the club in 2015. This will give owners who draft later in the month an upper hand on knowing how to value him on draft day. As the Jays' closer, Sanchez could be treated like a potential top-10 relief pitcher in fantasy due to his electric arsenal, but he falls much more into the flier category if he opens the year as a starter.

Sanchez will stretch out as a starter this spring, and his path to opening the year as the Blue Jays' closer may hinge on the performance of the team's rotation candidates, the Toronto Globe & Mail reports. "As we sit here today, Sanchez will be stretched out (to be a starter)," Toronto general manager Alex Anthopoulos said in a recent interview. "That being said, there's a scenario that he ends up in the bullpen, depending on how Estrada throws the ball, how Daniel Norris throws the ball."Manager John Gibbons said that he would have no problem if Sanchez moved into the closer role on a full-time basis in 2015. Brett Cecil, Aaron Loup, and Steve Delabar are among the candidates to close if Sanchez is needed in the rotation, but the youngster's success after moving to the bullpen and making a mechanical adjustment that significantly improved his walk rate could lead the Jays to decide that they're simply better off with Sanchez positioned to replace Casey Janssen as their primary ninth-inning option.

Sanchez logged his third save of the season with a perfect ninth inning in the Blue Jays' 1-0 win over Seattle on Wednesday night. It might be even be considered a little better than perfect as Sanchez (three saves, 1.15 ERA) entered the game after starter Mark Buehrle allowed the lead-off hitter to reach. The Mariners pinch ran with designated-runner James Jones who was 27-of-28 in stolen base attempts, and Sanchez promptly picked him off first base. He then retired the next two batters, one via strikeout, to notch the save. He has been electric in his debut season, and the only real question to be answered over the off-season is, will he start or close for Toronto next year?

Sanchez allowed an unearned run in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Yankees on Thursday to suffer the loss. Sanchez entered the game with the score tied at 2-2, and gave up a leadoff single to Chris Young. After a steal and sacrifice, Young scored the game-winning run on Adam Lind's error. Sanchez seemed to have displaced Casey Janssen as the Toronto's closer earlier in the month, but the hard-throwing righty hasn't seen any chances, while Janssen has recorded the team's last two saves. Sanchez is still being used in high-leverage situations, but he obviously cannot be counted on for saves.

Sanchez appears to have displaced Casey Janssen as the Blue Jays' closer, Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star reports. While the closing situation is still a bit foggy, Janssen has been brutal in the second half, and understands manager John Gibbons' increased willingness to turn over the ninth-inning to Sanchez, who was reeled in two of the team's last three save chances. Sanchez will be unavailable for the next two days in an attempt to curb his workload, but it sounds like when he's fresh, he'll be Gibbons' top choice when save situations arise. Though his ultimate destiny is the rotation after he entered the season as the team's top pitching prospect, Sanchez's excellent arsenal and velocity have allowed him to find success in the bullpen as a rookie. He's compiled a 1.52 ERA, 0.59 WHIP and 22 strikeouts over 23.2 innings, and with more saves set to come his way, he should notice a surge in ownership.

Sanchez recorded his second save with a scoreless ninth inning, allowing just one hit, in a 7-4 win over Tampa Bay on Wednesday night. Interestingly, Sanchez entered the game to start the ninth in a save situation. After he allowed a two-out single, regular closer Casey Janssen began to warm up but Sanchez struck out Ben Zobrist to end the game. It appeared Janssen, who has struggled recently, was healthy and available, but Sanchez got the nod. He may continue to be an option in at least some save situations, and may be worth a flyer for those teams looking for help in that category.

Sanchez took his first Major league loss Monday, allowing a run in the 10th inning against the Red Sox. Sanchez was bested by Yoenis Cespedes, who singled home a run to give the Sox the victory. Sanchez has been very strong for the Blue Jays since coming to the Major Leagues, posting a 1.89 ERA and 0.63 WHIP in 19 innings out of the bullpen.

Blue Jays purchased the contract of RHP Aaron Sanchez from Triple-A Buffalo. Sanchez is a highly-regarded starting pitching prospect, but the Jays will break him into the majors as a reliever. The 22-year-old has posted a 3.95 ERA and 84/57 K/BB ratio over 100 1/3 innings this season between Double- and Triple-A.