Miguel Sano Finally Met Expectations in 2019

SAno is still in a work in progress. His power numbers speak for themselves, and many of his HR's were very timely. But so were his frequent k's. And some defensive deficiencies. He fell apart in post season.  Again, a work in progress. Does he fit into the Twins future? Perhaps.Guess we'll have to see.

If you projected his HR's and k's over an entire season, he would probably have led the league in both. But projecting is unrealistic.

Problem remains that he is just an average defensive player and unpredictable at the plate. Hopefully he will show up at ST and be ready to play an entire season so the real Miguel Sano can reveal himself. First base does seem like the most logical position so I would rather see him spend the off season working on drills at that position than playing games in a DR League and celebrating meaningless championships.

He shrunk in the postseason for sure, but he wasn't alone in this regard. 

I saw a much different hitter the second half of the year. His patience at the plate is what makes him good. He had this and showed it right away when he came up from the minors to start his career. 

The swing and miss is still something he struggles with, but I think that can be corrected as well. We saw what happens when he is able to catch up with those fastballs, he hammers them and becomes one of the most dangerous bats in the game. 

As for his defense. I will be honest. I do not really care about it. The bat is so good I would work on perfecting that even more with the thought that eventually he moves over to 1B or takes over the DH spot when Cruz retires. 

If it's me, I DEFINITELY have him as part of my plans for this team going forward. 

SAno is still in a work in progress. His power numbers speak for themselves, and many of his HR's were very timely. But so were his frequent k's. And some defensive deficiencies. He fell apart in post season.  Again, a work in progress. Does he fit into the Twins future? Perhaps.Guess we'll have to see.

If you projected his HR's and k's over an entire season, he would probably have led the league in both. But projecting is unrealistic.

This!

I wonder how much of Sano's impressive numbers this season were a result of the live ball. It really plays to his game, turning fly balls into homeruns while strikeouts are still strikeouts.

Well, the balls he hit over the fence were hit about a mile and like was stated earlier, he was towards the top of the league in exit velocity. Hit the ball hard, good things happen. Swing at good pitches, good things happen. Did he get an extra couple HRs from the live ball? Maybe, but it's not something I think would drastically change his stats or the results of what he does. 

SAno is still in a work in progress. His power numbers speak for themselves, and many of his HR's were very timely. But so were his frequent k's. And some defensive deficiencies. He fell apart in post season.  Again, a work in progress. Does he fit into the Twins future? Perhaps.Guess we'll have to see.

If you projected his HR's and k's over an entire season, he would probably have led the league in both. But projecting is unrealistic.

Strikeouts are definitely okay if you make up for them with bombs.

Stanton 2018: 2nd in total strikeouts, 4th in total home runs

Judge 2017: 1st in total strikeouts, 2nd in total home runs

I wonder how much of Sano's impressive numbers this season were a result of the live ball. It really plays to his game, turning fly balls into homeruns while strikeouts are still strikeouts.

He finished 10th in average home run distance (minimum 10 homers). He will likely be ok when the balls are normal again.

The organization seems to be short on third-basemen and first-basemen. By that, I mean, prospects that are infielders and likely (in the near future) to hit at the level of a major-league 3rd-baseman...or the even-higher bar of a major league 1st-baseman. For that reason alone...and with all the holes to be filled elsewhere (primarily pitching)...we need Sano to keep making strides...even small ones.

Personally, what I liked the most about Sano in 2019 vs prior years is his new seriousness in the dugout. In prior years he was the dugout jokester, throwing sunflower seeds at team players being interviewed, mugging for the camera, etc. Not that doing stuff to keep things loose is wrong but there is a time and place for that on occasion.

The 2019 Miguel Sano had a "game face" during the games I watched (most) that looked like a serious guy trying to be a true MLB professional. Excellent!

It's been commented widely in many venues but Miguel's demeanor change in 2019

starts and continues(?) with the fantastic presence of Nelson Cruz as a role model.

IMHO...thanks!

I think most people don't realize the seriousness of his injury in 2017. This was a major injury which required major surgery. That rendered him unable to prepare properly for the 2018 season and the results showed. Then came the very encouraging 2018-2019 offseason interrupted by the fluke injury which turned out to be more serious than everyone thought at the time. When the team brought him to the majors with no spring training facing players who were in midseason form he struggled, exactly as would be expected. Finally, after approximately two lost years, we began to see the true Miguel Sano. If he can play a full season in good health he has 50-HR talent no matter how slippery the baseball is. I predict he will be the 2020 AL MVP.

First base does seem like the most logical position.

We'll have to agree to disagree on this. This will probably be the case 5-8 years from now but not yet.