Article: TD Top Prospects: #2 Miguel Sano

[Seth Stohs]

Thrylos, I assume you are referring to Killebrew's strikeout rate in the big leagues as a 20 year old, three seasons before he played consistently in the big leagues?

 

There will be examples on both side of the strikeout thing. Wood is one example, and there are examples the other direction. I don't think I've overblown it by stating that it is a concern, and I think it can be a concern. It's just one piece of his game. It's not something I'm particularly worried about at this time, but it would be naive not to mention it.

 

As for the incident, I can't believe there are people who think showing up an opponent, regardless of the back story, is ok. I'm good with showmanship, enthusiasm, excitement, but there has to be a line.

 

And, I'm with you completely on the Jeff Smith thing. I was shocked when he got assigned to the AFL... I don't get it.

[DocBauer]

I hope Sano is ready to begin the season at AAA, rock the first half of the season and be promoted mid season where he continues to produce and establish himself as a future star. But I also want Meyer to do the exact same thing. And I want Gibson to be 100% ready out of ST, make the rotation and never leave. And I want Buxton to do the same thing at AA, get promoted to AAA mid season, continue to shine, look great in September, and establish himself as a budding all star and permanent fixture in CF for the next dozen years starting in 2015.

 

And all of these things could really happen. But...but...they might not. Especially in the cases of Buxton and Sano and how young they are, 20 and 21 early season. This is NO inditement as to their talent or potential. In fact, it's actually just the opposite! They are both SO talented that it makes what they have done already, and will yet do, all the more impressive considering their youth.

 

They'll get here. It will be soon. We're all impatient for it. But Sano specifically in this case, would not be hurt by a brief return to AA to begin the year. While his AVG was down there and strikeouts a little high, so was his power, walks, OB and production. But I could see managers, coaches and scouts, (who watched him in person all season), determine that a month or so to get in a groove, beat up on people, conquer that AA level just a little bit more before moving up to AAA with even more confidence.

 

This wouldn't in any way "set him back" or even slow him down. In fact, it might even speed up his development to gain momentum, keep it going, and shoot right to the Twins sometime second half.

 

Now, he could just as easily ale in ST and prove he's immediately ready for Rochester and AAA competition. Simply stating no need to rush him, and no need to panic if the Twins are a little conservative the first month or so.

[Willihammer]

Re: Sano getting bigger. Should we start to worry about his weight? If he's 6' 4" and 250 lbs, then he's already got 10 pounds on Miguel Cabrera - who used to look like this, back in his 3B days for Florida:

 

http://media.cmgdigital.com/shared/lt/lt_cache/thumbnail/960/img/photos/2012/10/13/c7/4e/miggie2003.JPG

 

Not that either Cabrera or Sano are real fatsos.But, maybe those 20-25 pounds of paunch factor into the difference between a player that is able to stick at 3b and one who has to play 1B?

 

Seems like every team has at least one guy - CC in NY, Sandoval in SF, Fielder in TX, Delmon in Bal, etc.

 

All those guys, at their worst, were a lot heavier than Sano is now. Obviously they didn't get that way overnight. Would it be out of order to ask Sano to do something about his weight now?

[Thrylos]

Re: Sano getting bigger. Should we start to worry about his weight? If he's 6' 4" and 250 lbs, then he's already got 10 pounds on Miguel Cabrera - who used to look like this, back in his 3B days for Florida:

 

ok. There are 250 lbs and there are 250 lbs. Here is what Sano looks like these days (from Twinsfest)

 

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8Tt8EOGNHFI/UugHpWd7XnI/AAAAAAAAFKI/3IZs1EgygKA/s1600/Miguel+Sano+Byron+Buxton+TwinsFest.jpg

 

 

And here is what Pablo Sandoval (a third baseman) used to look like at allegedly 240 lbs last season:

 

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qxqpQmIkwv8/UIlAbwftWII/AAAAAAAAFLo/S7x6HGRbokk/s640/2010+Mar+08+062.jpg

 

(he is 5'11" - with 3 inch heels on)

 

Here is what Miguel Cabrera (allegedly listed at 240 who is also 6'4") looked like last season:

 

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Anz8xrp0Ll8/TnFAJy0dMmI/AAAAAAAAC3E/rPjYj4QtQR0/s1600/Miguel+Cabrera+2.jpg

 

 

So. Are you really still wondering about Sano's weight?

[Willihammer]

My question is about the trend. Every new report I read about Miguel Sano they all say the same thing - he's still getting bigger. Well, what's getting bigger? He's listed at 6' 4." is that 250 pounds all muscle? Obviously no. Not standing next to Byron Buxton its not.

 

My thinking is, take the Sano from 2-3 years ago, when he looked like this:

 

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6Q6woMo4QMk/Tx9c8cCh1WI/AAAAAAAABBg/ZFNEAltU4w8/s1600/SanoRunning.jpg

 

And draw a straight line through the 250 pound Sano of today, and there's a chance that in 4-5 years his body "grows" into something like this:

 

http://i.usatoday.net/communitymanager/_photos/daily-pitch/2012/08/03/youngx-large.jpg

 

Heh, just kidding (not really).

 

Maybe Sano's physical development mirror's Cabrera's, who again, isn't obese or anything but, he like Sano, isn't exactly Adrian Beltre over there and maybe keeping 25 pounds of paunch off his frame is the difference between playing 3B and 1B. He would seem to need every edge he can get.

[Thrylos]

Maybe Sano's physical development mirror's Cabrera's, who again, isn't obese or anything but, he like Sano, isn't exactly Adrian Beltre over there and maybe keeping 25 pounds of paunch off his frame is the difference between playing 3B and 1B. He would seem to need every edge he can get.

 

If those 25 lbs (of muscle) help him hit 50+ instead of 30 HRs, I'd take the less range at 3B

[Blackjack]

Lets face it, theres a naturaly aging process for everyone, as a former marathon runner, I know!! Every year that they get out of him at third base is a bonus!! Sooner or later he will be at first base or DH or outfield.

[tobi0040]

http://i.usatoday.net/communitymanager/_photos/daily-pitch/2012/08/03/youngx-large.jpg[/img]

 

.

 

 

I think it comes down to his love for baseball and his drive to get better. By all accounts, Sano is a hard worker, both offensively and defensively who wants to be great. Delmon Young had all the talent in the world but to me he didn't like playing baseball, never worked on defense, or worked on his conditioning. I don't see the parrallel to Sano in that sense.

[Guest wabene]

It's fun reminiscing about the David Ortiz situation, isn't it?

 

Oh yeah... Miguel Sano...

 

Yeah why cry about Ortiz he was still unproven so a miss is understandable. NOW if you wanna cry I would cry about the Bartlet/Garza trade. I knew that was a bad move at the time and I don't know much about baseball.

[Mike Sixel]

I can't wait for him to be up here. Thank goodness they went outside their normal processes and signed him. A testament to the scouts and negotiators that they recognized his potential, and signed him.

 

I don't see why they should keep him in AA. The pitchers in AAA are better, they are largely former MLB starters, or number 5 pitchers waiting for an injury......but as long as he is up for 2 or more months this year, I'm pleased.

[TRex]

Thank goodness they went outside their normal processes and signed him. A testament to the scouts and negotiators that they recognized his potential, and signed him.

 

As the scouting lore goes, the Twins were the first team to identify Miguel Cabrera as a super prospect. Their strong presence in Venezuela suggests they could have signed him if they would have ponied up the >$1.9 he signed for. Now THAT is something to cry about! I would certainly hope they learned from that painful experience!

[diehardtwinsfan]

a. There was bad blood between Sano and the pitcher; from here, referring to a Reusse writeup:

b. Lanigan was one of Jeff Smith's favorites. Ask any player in the Twins' organization (in private) who has played for Jeff Smith about how much they like him and what he is all about. I am amazed that he is still with the organization.

 

 

Thrylos, I've asked you this in the past and never gotten an answer. Other than your posts here in this forum, I haven't seen anything that would indicate that there's a general dislike for Jeff Smith within the org, and the fact that he was tapped to manage in the AFL seems to indicate otherwise.

 

I understand that you have some sources that are somehow connected to the organization, but I don't think the line is all that fine between claiming that you personally don't care for him (which we all do to various people) and claiming soley on your authority that all of his former players don't care him and expecting people to believe you... especially without supplying any kind of documented evidence to corroborate this point and using only anonymous sources that you know.

 

Sources can be wrong, and I doubt any of us know all of Smith's former players. Anyone can claim to have contacts within the org. I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for something a bit more solid to back it up.

 

As a fan who has no connections to the org, this is something I would be very interested in knowing.

[Madre Dos]

It was a very busy summer with Miguel in the house. That season I was also a host mom to Eddie Rosario, Kennys Vargas, Jhonatan Arias, Jairo Rodriguez and Tyler Jones. Things were a little rocky the first couple of days. With English help from 1 of the other players, Miguel asked me if I was to old to take care of him. Miguel was barely 18 when he got to Elizabethton. I soon found out that I am 10-12 years older than his mother in the Dominican Republic. Miguel turned out to be a fine roomie needing assistance with basic etiquette and the "dreaded" English. But we learned to text the "babes" at the ballpark and became 1 happy if not LARGE family for the summer. My most proud moment for Miguel? His 1st interview on ESPN in ENGLISH! I can't wait to get to Fort Myers and bake him his favorite cake - tres leches.

[Jim Crikket]

 

Sources can be wrong, and I doubt any of us know all of Smith's former players. Anyone can claim to have contacts within the org. I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for something a bit more solid to back it up.

 

As a fan who has no connections to the org, this is something I would be very interested in knowing.

 

Not going to claim to know anything close to all of Jeff Smith's former players, but I, too, have heard directly from former players who would not put Smith anywhere near the top of their list of favorite managers. Just FWIW

[ashbury]

Not going to claim to know anything close to all of Jeff Smith's former players, but I, too, have heard directly from former players who would not put Smith anywhere near the top of their list of favorite managers. Just FWIW

 

But do they have the perspective (of time, of prior experience, etc) to make this judgement? I know that a few of my schoolteachers that I hated at the time were the ones who actually made me learn things, or at least tried and I was too stubborn to benefit - maybe the Twins braintrust sees the same kind of thing in Smith?

 

(Maybe this side topic belongs in some thread of its own, if there isn't a quick resolution to it.)

[Jim Crikket]

Yeah, john, I'm not inclined to hijack this thread further re Smith and I can't/won't go in to specifics. I just wanted to say thrylos isn't alone in having heard of a lack of enthusiasm for Smith from some players. Does that mean Smith's a bad manager? Of course not. Managing is not always about winning popularity contests.

 

As for Sano, I agree that there's nothing wrong with having someone with a bit more "attitude" than we've seen in the Twins' clubhouse recently. You wouldn't want a clubhouse full of guys like that without a manager who excels at handling those personalities (which is not Gardy's strong suit), but I also think that while having 25 "Minnesota nice" personalities might be a PR departments' dream, it isn't conducive to winning a lot of baseball games.

[cmathewson]

As the scouting lore goes, the Twins were the first team to identify Miguel Cabrera as a super prospect. Their strong presence in Venezuela suggests they could have signed him if they would have ponied up the >$1.9 he signed for. Now THAT is something to cry about! I would certainly hope they learned from that painful experience!

 

He was in their academy, and they thought they had him. Offered him $1 Mil and assumed he'd give them a discount. Biggest mistake of Terry Ryan's career. (#2? Big Pappy).