Mention names of the Twins best prospects in the lower minor leagues and Miguel Sano could be the first player discussed. Sano hit 20 home runs last season for Elizabethon, the second best total in the Appalachian League. This spring, playing for Beloit, he leads the Midwest League with five home runs and is tied for the lead in runs batted at 14.
Twins general manager Terry Ryan told Sports Headliners that the right-handed teenage slugger is so strong he can hit balls to the opposite field over the fence, but more interesting was Ryan’s praise for Sano’s defensive potential. “Defensively he should be a Gold Glove type third baseman,” Ryan said. “It’s gonna be awhile before he develops into that type of a polished fielder. He makes careless errors.
“But he’s a big, strong kid. He’s 6-3, 235, 240, and he can put a (hitting) display on a particular night but there’s not enough consistency quite yet. There’s no doubt in our minds that he’s going to be a major league player.”
How soon?
“He’s 19. You’d probably say three years—hope that would be the case—but he’s only in low (Class) A,” Ryan said. “So he’s still gotta struggle through a little bit of those things at Beloit, Wisconsin. Getting used to playing in the cold weather is going to be a good thing for him because he’s never really played above Elizabethon, Tennessee and that was in the summer. …”
Ryan said the Dominican Republic native also needs to learn how to be a leader and improve his English. “There are a lot of things he needs to grasp before we can start counting him as a major league all-star guy.”
Ryan said Sano’s athleticism is impressive including in the field. “He’s got enough agility to play short. He’s got a rifle for an arm but the size that he carries is a little bit much for shortstop.”