Calling It: Miguel Sano Will Be AL MVP

The Twins were aided by so many strong rookie performances last year that the term "sophomore slump" can't help but be uttered this spring. It's certainly legitimate to wonder whether the league might adjust in Year 2 to Eddie Rosario's free-swinging tendencies, or Tyler Duffey's two-pitch mix.

Somehow that seems hard to envision with Sano. His approach at the plate is impeccable. There's not really a weakness to exploit. He'll strike out, sure – in bunches sometimes – but Sano demonstrates such patience at the dish and works so many deep counts that he's invariably going to force mistakes.

Taking advantage of those has never exactly been a problem for him.

As a rookie, Sano ran the count full in 93 of his 335 plate appearances. That's 28 percent. The major-league leader in full counts was Cincinnati's Joey Votto, who got there 173 times in 695 PA (25 percent). The American League leader was Mike Trout (21 percent).

Votto led the majors in walks. Trout hit 41 home runs with brilliant defense in center field. Both are former MVP recipients. Sano's profile differs from each, but he has traits that have traditionally been valued very highly by award voters.

With his immense power and his placement in the middle of a quality lineup, Sano figures to put up outstanding numbers in the home run and RBI categories. His big personality and occasional bravado will endear him to the baseball world. The distance, and often dramatic nature, of his majestic homers can make him a steady presence on highlight reels.

His defense, which is likely to be adequate at best in right field and potentially quite a bit worse, won't help bolster his value, exactly. But he may not spend the entire season there, and I tend to think that most voters would favorably view his dutifully going out and playing a brand new position because his team asked him to.

Sano's legacy will be built upon what he does at the plate, however, and he shows no signs of slowing in production after putting up rookie numbers that would've factored into the MVP conversation if prorated over a full season.

This spring in Fort Myers he has been doing his thing. When I've watched, he has worked a full count in seemingly every at-bat. The strikeouts have been there, as expected – 14 in 38 at-bats – but he has also drawn 11 walks. And when he has made contact, he has consistently put a charge into the ball, resulting in six extra-base hits and plenty of gasp-inducing line drives.

Sano has never put up an OPS lower than 870 at any level. That almost feels like his floor. And his ceiling, as a 22-year-old who is still learning how to play in the majors with about a half-season's worth of at-bats under his belt? It's hard to put a cap on it. If he can stay on the field, he is going to put up some eye-popping offensive statistics.

Health is no given for him. He's got a big body, and will be especially vulnerable while running around in the outfield for the first time. In his short time with the Twins, we've seen him deal with some ankle and hamstring issues.

But since graduating to full-season ball, Sano has never missed an extended period of time due to injury, outside of the unfortunate Tommy John surgery that cost him all of 2014. In 2012, 2013 and 2015, he averaged 564 plate appearances, and that's with shorter seasons in the minors.

Of course, Sano could have a healthy, terrific season and still fall short of the MVP award. Maybe an unspectacular batting average resulting from his high K-rate holds him back (no hitter has been MVP with a BA under .280 since 1972, and only five of the last 50 to win it have batted below .300). Maybe someone like Trout or Carlos Correa has an even more ridiculous year. Maybe the Twins fall well short of the postseason, essentially eliminating any of their players from serious consideration.

But I'm feeling optimistic. When you watch Sano step up to the plate, watch him get his money's worth in every single at-bat, watch intimidated pitchers feebly try to nibble the outside edges of the zone against him, it's hard to feel any other way.

Some might believe that Sano has some growing up to do. To me, he looks like a grown man who is ready to take this league by storm.

He's not going to win a Gold Glove, but he's a very viable candidate to take home some other hardware, and that's a hell of an exciting thought with the season less than a week away.