Twins on FSN+ tonight, and a certain big name prospect is playing...

[Brad Swanson]

What? You all saw a nice play from Sano? I thought it was a terrible piece of footwork. He had no business back-handing that ball and will burned more times than not. He has to get in front of balls better than that to be successful. It doesn't matter if he gloves them all, getting in front of the ball and being able to make a play is the biggest challenge at 3b.

 

He'll definitely have time to work on getting in front of the ball. He's only 19. Plus, his arm is mad strong and quite accurate. He'll be able to make up for some minor bobbles with his arm. He has a long way to go to stay at third, but I'm encouraged with what I see and hear.

[Badsmerf]

He'll definitely have time to work on getting in front of the ball. He's only 19. Plus, his arm is mad strong and quite accurate. He'll be able to make up for some minor bobbles with his arm. He has a long way to go to stay at third, but I'm encouraged with what I see and hear.

I agree. Just knock the ball down and gun the guy down. I'm not saying he is a statue, just can't call that play flashy or even good.

 

I will say... I was extremely impressed with Hicks. He is not what I was expecting to see, since I've been pretty skeptical about him so far. I feel even more strongly that he has to be sent down for an extra year of control. Being shrewd, that is what I would do. A little experience in AAA would be good for him anyway. I see a pretty good player in the making.

 

Poor Benson had a bonehead game. I don't blame him for his error at all. He was on a dead sprint toward the foul line and the fence was only like 10 from it. He took his eyes off the ball to look at it and dropped the ball. Then was confused because i landed fair. How many innings has he even played LF? To me, adjusting to a fence being that close would be difficult. Also, he should have got called for another error but the umps let it go. In his exchange he dropped the ball. I would have called off the catch, but that is me. Nice AB's though.

[Riverbrian]

What? You all saw a nice play from Sano? I thought it was a terrible piece of footwork. He had no business back-handing that ball and will burned more times than not. He has to get in front of balls better than that to be successful. It doesn't matter if he gloves them all, getting in front of the ball and being able to make a play is the biggest challenge at 3b.

 

I had the same thought.

[LaBombo]

It's only one game but Sano does not looked out of place at 3B. I think most people half expected a lumbering Delmon Young-esque awkwardness to him but that is clearly not the case. He's big but his movements are much smoother than expected. He had at least one nice pick where he had to turn his hips toward the dugout then twist and throw to 1B which looked pretty natural. Well natural except for the double pump which I saw him do a couple of other times. He could work on cutting that out of his routine.

 

+1. It's been surprising and a little disappointing how quickly much of the media and fan base has treated Sano's possible move to first as a foregone conclusion. He's still pretty raw at third, but he's not the hopeless oaf he's been made out to be. He sure looks like he has the raw athletic ability to be better than some of the bruisers who've managed to man third in the majors.

[70charger]

Quick and disjointed impressions:

 

Sano is a beast. I'm a fairly big dude, and I feel like I would look pretty small next to him. He also has a cannon from third.

 

Sano is not afraid to swing that bat, and he doesn't look like he's afraid of major league pitching. I doubt the mental issues of the game will trouble him much if he keeps approaching it like this. He's got that swagger.

 

Hendriks pitched okay, but his fastball was flat. I think the Yankees missed some balls they very well could have hit. A little bad luck and we're looking at 3 runs, not 1, through 4-5 innings.

 

The Twins did some little things right - aside from the Benson error and some poor baserunning by Sano. They stole some bases, played pretty smart, and looked like a team. The Yankees looked disjointed and unprepared - kind of like the 2012 Twins.

 

Final thought: I wish it was a playoff game.

[Oldgoat_MN]

Poor Benson had a bonehead game. I don't blame him for his error at all. He was on a dead sprint toward the foul line and the fence was only like 10 from it. He took his eyes off the ball to look at it and dropped the ball. Then was confused because i landed fair. How many innings has he even played LF? To me, adjusting to a fence being that close would be difficult.

 

Badsmerf - I always think you are such a jerk, but I read your comments because you have some bright things to say. Excuse me, my brother. It appears you simply call them as you see them (though maybe in a slightly rougher fashion than us elders might).

 

Really like your observations about Hicks, and the point about Benson having to deal with a fence was insightful.

Thank you.

[LaBombo]

Poor Benson had a bonehead game. I don't blame him for his error at all. He was on a dead sprint toward the foul line and the fence was only like 10 from it. He took his eyes off the ball to look at it and dropped the ball. Then was confused because i landed fair. How many innings has he even played LF? To me, adjusting to a fence being that close would be difficult.

 

Like the middle-aged goat guy said, excellent point(s). The Benson non-catch at the foul line looked even worse (better?) to me after seeing it again. The 'fence' along the left field foul line looks to be about 6 feet from the chalk.

 

Also, it's not a fence in any way that I connect with normal boundaries in ball parks. Instead, at that height it looks like a medieval torture device designed to hand out either a broken femur or a punch in the wiener, depending on the leg length of the charging outfield victim.

[Nick Nelson]

+1. It's been surprising and a little disappointing how quickly much of the media and fan base has treated Sano's possible move to first as a foregone conclusion. He's still pretty raw at third, but he's not the hopeless oaf he's been made out to be. He sure looks like he has the raw athletic ability to be better than some of the bruisers who've managed to man third in the majors.

 

I think you're exaggerating the opposing viewpoint a bit. I don't know that anyone makes him out to be a "hopeless oaf." I've seen Sano take many reps at third base, and mechanically he's not bad. His arm makes up for much of what he lacks in finesse with the glove.

 

The thing is, the kid is 6'4" and 240 lbs at age 19. He's already the size of the biggest players in the MLB at the position. If he keeps growing, it's just out of the question. Could you picture a Frank Thomas sized guy playing third base?

[PseudoSABR]

I think Lebron James would make an excellent thirdbaseman....

[sorney]

I think Lebron James would make an excellent thirdbaseman....

 

I thought he was going to playing TE for the Browns?!?!? 3B for the Indians too, love it!

[SweetOne69]

You can go here to find out what channel FSN+ is for you TV provider:

 

FOX Sports North PLUS channel

 

As you can see with some providers the channel is available all the time while for others it is only there for the event.

[mudcat14]

+1. It's been surprising and a little disappointing how quickly much of the media and fan base has treated Sano's possible move to first as a foregone conclusion. He's still pretty raw at third, but he's not the hopeless oaf he's been made out to be. He sure looks like he has the raw athletic ability to be better than some of the bruisers who've managed to man third in the majors.

 

I agree. He'll be good enough there if he works at it. Don't forget the abyss that has been the Twins hot corner for a decade plus. We're gonna quibble because this guy with more power than Conn-Ed will never win a Gold Glove? Christ! Last year's World Series opponents got there with a Panda Bear & a Sasquatch at 3B. I think Miguel Angel Sano will be fine.

[kab21]

for the reasons Nick listed I only consider it a bonus if Sano can stick at 3B. We will know more this year but if his bat keeps pushing for promotions and his defense is potentially holding up his big league callup by 1+ yrs then it becomes a difficult choice. The other issue is that I feel fairly certain that Sano's MLB time at 3B will be limited to 3-4 yrs. As he enters his late 20's and fills out his frame I just don't believe that he will be a 3Bman.

 

If the giants had other 3B options I think they would definitely move the Panda to 1B.

[LaBombo]

for the reasons Nick listed I only consider it a bonus if Sano can stick at 3B. We will know more this year but if his bat keeps pushing for promotions and his defense is potentially holding up his big league callup by 1+ yrs then it becomes a difficult choice. The other issue is that I feel fairly certain that Sano's MLB time at 3B will be limited to 3-4 yrs. As he enters his late 20's and fills out his frame I just don't believe that he will be a 3Bman.

 

If the giants had other 3B options I think they would definitely move the Panda to 1B.

 

He was listed at 6'3", 190 in his pro debut. He's 6'4", 235-240 now. If he "fills out" much more, he may have to skip playing first and just go full-time DH.

 

Interesting that Sano's one plus defensive tool, the arm, would be almost entirely wasted at first, and yet it looks like nobody in this thread has mentioned right field.

 

At any rate, with another dreadful year on tap at the major league level and a growing amount of impatience among many of the faithful here, I'm sure there will be a hue and cry to move Sano to first to expedite his MLB debut unless his defense at 3rd improves drastically this year.

[kab21]

What are you talking about skipping first and going right to DH? That's silly. He might (probably will) end up in the 260-280 range but with his athleticism he should be able to handle that position especially compared to some of the stiffs that play it in the MLB. Handling the hot corner is significantly more difficult than 1B. He might be able to do it for a few years but long term he won't be there.

 

Arm is an overrated tool and wasting it isn't that big of an issue. He could certainly handle OF as well as parmelee, Willy, Delmon, Cuddyer or Kubel imo. The reason that nobody mentions OF is that the Twins have prospects everywhere in the OF. And those prospects all project as plus defenders aside from Arcia. At 1B the Twins have Parmelee and maybe a guy like Vargas.

[jokin]

 

And those prospects all project as plus defenders aside from Arcia. At 1B the Twins have Parmelee and maybe a guy like Vargas.

 

 

Sano and Vargas as the future corner IFs? I think we need to ask Seth what the "Tigerbeat" version of the Tigers 1B/3B lineup has been like at Beloit and the Rookie Leagues...

[kab21]

You might be able to compare them to Prince/Miguel at single A but it's a long way to the majors from there. Vargas is interesting but I need to see a little more than 40 great games.

 

I forgot about another nice 1B (maybe 3B) prospect in Harrison. He has some nice potential but he is more like Matt moses at this point. He was a 1st rd pick that had decent tools and a nice swing IIRC. it just never worked out for him and he never did anything in the minors outside of a solid half season in ft myers. I remember at the time '06ish that there were some projecting him into the the Twins lineup in '08 or '09 the same way that many on here are projecting prospects. some will work out and some will disappoint.

[stringer bell]

You might be able to compare them to Prince/Miguel at single A but it's a long way to the majors from there. Vargas is interesting but I need to see a little more than 40 great games.

 

I forgot about another nice 1B (maybe 3B) prospect in Harrison. He has some nice potential but he is more like Matt moses at this point. He was a 1st rd pick that had decent tools and a nice swing IIRC. it just never worked out for him and he never did anything in the minors outside of a solid half season in ft myers. I remember at the time '06ish that there were some projecting him into the the Twins lineup in '08 or '09 the same way that many on here are projecting prospects. some will work out and some will disappoint.

TR said something to the effect that they were waiting for him to develop big power (Harrison that is) and he emphasized that Harrison was a high draft choice (fr standing between the fields last week, standing next to the Twins' GM).

[mudcat14]

He was listed at 6'3", 190 in his pro debut. He's 6'4", 235-240 now. If he "fills out" much more, he may have to skip playing first and just go full-time DH.

 

From seeing him in Thursday night's game, I think it's fair to say that Sano has completely filled out his frame. He has always been physically mature for his age, and I think it's safe to say he's done growing at 19, in terms of his frame. I suspect it will take a concerted effort on the part of he and the Twins training staff to prevent a mid-section expansion a la Fielder, Cabrera, Ortiz & others. But I think he showed the other night that he has the physical ability to play the hot corner. Obviously, fine-tuning his skills is required (as evidenced by his 42 errors at Beloit.) But I expect that the Twins' Brain Trust understands that as valuable as he can be at the plate, his worth increases exponentially if he can remain at 3rd base. I think it's safe to assume he will remain there until he absolutely proves that he is a liability. I seriously think we're still years away from that point.

[stringer bell]

No more of an authority on Sano than Terry Ryan said he is "too big". I think the team would like him to play about 20 lbs. lighter. He isn't a statue or a stiff, but he is close to growing out of being a third baseman.

[Guest USAFChief]

I don't think you move Sano unless/until you absolutely, positively have to. If he can cut down the errors, I see no reason he won't be quick enough or agile enough to play 3b, at least until he gets on the wrong side of 30 or so. Having not seen him play much, it's hard to say if the errors are the normal type for minor league infielders (the kind that often go away with time and reps) or if he's just too clumsy, but he played SS growing up in the Dominican, so I doubt he's too clumsy. There have been lots of "big" 3bmen in the major leagues. Leave the kid alone and let him play 3b. If you have to move him later, that won't take much. It's his bat that's important anyway.

[fairweather]

I know that most don't project Sano to hit for a high average but to me he looked like an extremely young Albert Puhols.

[kab21]

I actually think that Sano can hit for a decent average (.280-.290) despite last years low average.

 

I just want to make it completely clear but I don't think anyone has said to move him this year. The decision imo comes after the year where you assess the amount of time needed for his bat to reach the majors and the amount of time needed for his defense to be merely adequate at the MLB level. If the org thinks that it will take and extra year or two for the defense to be ready then you are faced with a difficult decision.

 

I really don't care what position Sano played as a young teenager where he was by far the best athlete on the field.

 

I also disagree with anyone that thinks he is done filling out at age 19 when he has put on 40+ lbs in 2 or so years. I also disagree with anyone that thinks he could be 20 lbs lighter. The kid is absolutely ripped and this is the body he was given. He's big and he's going to be big. It's not like he's the Panda or some other portly ballplayer.