All Eyes on Fort Myers

A picture of Sano but nothing in the article about Sano?

Of course, Sano has been on the Temporary Inactive List for about 4-5 days. Hes in the Dominican due to a "Family Situation. Hopefully nothing too serious and he can get back soon.

 

A little more research into Sano's future-as-a-Twin status might be helpful here in making this article even more informative, ie:

- At what date do the Twins gain another year of control over Sano?

- How many options remain on Sano after 2018 ( in case of need for 2-yr. "fix")?

- How much does Sano currently weigh?

- Who is working with Sano on his plate approach and dietary habits?

- With Mauer's and Morrison's (and Escobar's) contracts expiring, is there any hint from management on what position is envisioned for Sano in 2019?

- Bremer mentioned that it is anticipated that Sano might soon move up to AAA, is there a time frame and/or set of criteria set by management in which this scenario would take place?

Five full paragraphs...

That's not what i mean. How's he doing so far, etc., is what i'm getting at.

The Twins are on record saying that Sano will go to a higher level when he reaches his goals, on three levels:  hitting, fielding, and conditioning.   He is (before his family leave) on a 3 day rotation:  1 day he plays at third base, the next he DHs, and the third he is doing conditioning drills.

HIs total slash line is fairly irrelevant because he is trying different things, like hitting the ball to all fields.   This is extended Spring Training for him.  He bought in and working hard according to all reports.  He is even warming up pitchers when he is DHing.

Situation not that different than Santana's IMHO.  They were both recovering from injuries/surgery last off-season and did not have time to get in shape.  The Twins would have done Sano a favor if they kept him in EST till he was ready.  On the other hand, I wonder how much the proven false accusation circus led them to the decision to keep him with the team as one of the "family".

Weinshie
1:17 Have you had a look at Alex Kirilloff yet? If so, your thoughts.
Keith Law
1:17 Yes. He's on the top 50 today, linked up top.

19 G, .328/.442/.453 (.895) with 2 doubles, 2 homers... 13 BB, 21 K. (64 AB, probably about 76-78 PA). 

 

Reports on his conditioning and attitude and all that have been good...

 

But yeah, he's been in the DR for several days now, so not sure where he's at right now. 

tHANKS

 

 

Where do the GCL Twins play?   Not in Hammond Stadium but a back field somewhere?   Is there one back field that's a cut above all the other practice fields?

In a back field.  They play at the field used by the AAA team during ST.  This season is a brand new field with brand new technology that was Bill Smith's last accomplishment with the Twins and was named after him.  It is right next door to the academy building where most of the GCL players live.

I agree that WOULD be more informative, but you need to take into account the beat writers haven't been able to gleam that information from the team.  Nick's article isn't meant to give the timelines, etc.  It is laying out scenarios and helping to us to know what to look for and what is happening in Fort Myers, with Sano being the biggest story (figuratively and literally) down there.   

Don't get me wrong, I much appreciate the topic being brought up, it's just that the article is highly incomplete as it invites more questions than it tells us in "what is happening in Ft Myers." Certainly, phone inquiries can be made to the local radio broadcaster, fans in the know, "inside sources", etc., to give the article more granularity.

This is what I'm talking about... Items like this are helpful, picking Miller's brain about the situation with Sano and the Golden Trio, perhaps off the record, seems like a good source of inside scuttlebutt.

Be prepared for the following minutia to come spewing forth from 1 Twins Way between now and August 1

"We were open for business on several players, but just couldn't put a deal together that we liked...our biggest pickups will really be the return of All-Stars Sano and Santana as well as the Platinum Defensive player of the year in Buxton...adding those three to our lineup in the second half without mortgaging any future assets is really the best of both worlds"

 

Kate Moran is the team's dietitian and she's based out of the Fort Myers complex. The Twins have made a big commitment toward better nutrition the past couple years, and seem to be out in front of a lot of other clubs in that regard. For example, not every team employs its own full-time dietitian. I tried to get in touch with Moran for an interview for the prospect handbook. It didn't end up working out, but I learned quite a bit in researching for that piece before it fell through. 

The MLB network in their Twins' ST special in the 40 clubs in 40 days devoted a segment on the subject and Dozier was their guide discussing the dietary changes that the new FO brought on.  I suspect that it might be canned either at MLB.com or at youtube.  Really good stuff.

The MLB network in their Twins' ST special in the 40 clubs in 40 days devoted a segment on the subject and Dozier was their guide discussing the dietary changes that the new FO brought on.  I suspect that it might be canned either at MLB.com or at youtube.  Really good stuff.

Fort Myers hitting coach Steve Singleton is working with Sano, but in a quote I saw from him he mentioned how Sano was doing a good job of focusing on the things assigned to him "from above" or "from the top" something along those lines. So, as you'd expect, the guidance in terms of what Miguel's supposed to be focusing on is coming from the front office/MLB field staff, but it sounds like Singleton is the main person who's working to implement that plan with Miguel.

 

Kate Moran is the team's dietitian and she's based out of the Fort Myers complex. The Twins have made a big commitment toward better nutrition the past couple years, and seem to be out in front of a lot of other clubs in that regard. For example, not every team employs its own full-time dietitian. I tried to get in touch with Moran for an interview for the prospect handbook. It didn't end up working out, but I learned quite a bit in researching for that piece before it fell through. 

Thanks, Tom (and Thry). Good work. Very helpful.

Kirilloff was regarded as possibly the best HS bat in the draft when selected. IIRC, there were even comments made the Twins may have stolen him where selected. He obviously has things to continue to work on, but what he has done, at his age, at 2 levels this season, is very, very impressive. Now factor his production after missing all of 2017!

This far, Lewis has proven to be an outstanding selection. He truly looks like a 5 tool talent. From what I have read, a few video clips, and one ST game this year, he absolutely has the athleticism, range and arm for SS. I'm not worried about error totals for such a young infield prospect. He's still learning the position and all the nuances involved, and didn't even play SS full time until his senior year. (I still want to know who the hell was playing SS for his team previously)!

Yes, he's still developing and very young. But it seems the only thing holding Graterol back is experience/IP.

It is not out of the question that all of Kiriloff, Lewis and Graterol could/should be in AA next season. If not to start, then by mid season.