Article: For Better or Worse: Miguel Sano

[mnfanforlife]

Seth - who would you compare Sano more favorably to: Giancarlo Stanton or Mark Reynolds?

[lightfoot789]

That was kind of my point with Jeter. With Sano's skill set - He can be adequate at 3rd and exceptionally clutch at the plate. Look at this years triple crown winner. I will take that from Sano any day. I'm sure most of you / us would take 2 of 3 triple crown categories. He just needs to be serviceable at 3rd. The kid can Rake!!

[Kwak]

Yeah it can. Plouffe stuck at short through his entire minor league career and played some short in Minnesota. Sano couldn't stick at short in the low minors.[/QU

 

Significantly different skill-set between SS and 3B. SS has to be nimble to turn the DP, and given the Twins history at collisions at 2B it seems to make a great deal of sense to move [the projected] #1 power hitter away from SS to 3B to avoid losing him to injury. Plus, the Twins have a huge need at 3B. Remember, Gardy sez one guy doesn't have to hit (say SS) if everybody else does!

[Brock Beauchamp]

Significantly different skill-set between SS and 3B. SS has to be nimble to turn the DP, and given the Twins history at collisions at 2B it seems to make a great deal of sense to move [the projected] #1 power hitter away from SS to 3B to avoid losing him to injury. Plus, the Twins have a huge need at 3B. Remember, Gardy sez one guy doesn't have to hit (say SS) if everybody else does!

 

Different skillset but short is a harder position to play by a considerable margin. If Plouffe has the range to play short, he can play third. His arm isn't an issue (only its accuracy). He had all the tools to play shortstop for most of his career. Sano didn't make it out of the low minors at the position.

 

The Twins didn't move Sano away from short for fear of injury. That's ludicrous; a shortstop that hits like Sano is a once-in-a-generation player. They moved him because every scout on the planet says he can't play the position. Many of those same scouts believe he can't even play third. By any measure, Plouffe was the better defender from the moment he was drafted until today. The two shouldn't be compared.

[Madre Dos]

Sano is much better defensively when Vargas is at 1st base. Kennys is a mountain of a man, a HUGE target and keeps miguel grounded. When Kennys arrived at Beloit is when Sano's errors went way down. It is also quite amusing to hear Vargas bellow: "Sano, throw it to Big Poppi". Both are great kids and I can't wait to see them during spring training.

[glunn]

Mike Trout is another example of someone who was able to move up quickly and succeed.

[cmathewson]

How much of the strikeout thing was the result of rarely getting anything good to hit and getting tired of taking walks all the time? When I played, I was pitched around a lot and, as a result, got into bad habits like chasing pitcher's pitches just to try to hit something. I wonder if that is part of the reason for the high walks and high strikeouts.

[righty8383]

How much of the strikeout thing was the result of rarely getting anything good to hit and getting tired of taking walks all the time? When I played, I was pitched around a lot and, as a result, got into bad habits like chasing pitcher's pitches just to try to hit something. I wonder if that is part of the reason for the high walks and high strikeouts.

 

I would say its a factor. When I went and saw Beloit play a couple games last summer, he saw more breaking balls than fastballs and the fastballs were mostly out of the zone. There were moments that he was over aggressive and swinging at balls out of the zone even when ahead in the count. He also showed some restraint when he had to. With the bases loaded and a 1-2 count, he took a high fastball and a low breaking ball to fill the count. He flinched at both pitches but managed to hold off. 3-2 pitch was hung and Sano Launched it.

 

Those are the the AB's Sano needs to remember. Not just because he hit a grand slam. He showed good patience and it paid off when he got the pitch he wanted.

[cmathewson]

Different skillset but short is a harder position to play by a considerable margin. If Plouffe has the range to play short, he can play third. His arm isn't an issue (only its accuracy). He had all the tools to play shortstop for most of his career. Sano didn't make it out of the low minors at the position.

 

The Twins didn't move Sano away from short for fear of injury. That's ludicrous; a shortstop that hits like Sano is a once-in-a-generation player. They moved him because every scout on the planet says he can't play the position. Many of those same scouts believe he can't even play third. By any measure, Plouffe was the better defender from the moment he was drafted until today. The two shouldn't be compared.

 

We've got the best right handed power hitting prospect we've had since Killer and we are worried about his defense? Really? They moved him from short because he weighed 250 pounds as an 18 year old and he's still growing. Hopefully he can stay at third, but he might end up at first. Short was never a likely option.