Seth Stohs

Gonsalves is starting at AA.

Agreed, though he'll start at AA to get some work in first.

Anyone there have any idea on the Jake Reed injury?

Saw that this morning. It's an awesome story, and I love the public response... But I look and see he's "only" 27 and only spent 6 years in the minor leagues... Makes us appreciate the Beresford, Chris Heintz, Josh Rabe, and even Alex Wimmers stories so much better. They likely had their moments as well, on or off camera. When we interviewed Beresford after his first game played, he was welling up a bit too. Love stories like this.

Byron Buxton looked different this year. On the Winter Caravan, at Twins Fest or throughout Spring Training, Buxton looked much more relaxed, much more comfortable. it’s amazing the effect of success can have on a person. After struggles and demotions marred much of his first two seasons, he came back up on September 1st last year and showed the promise so many had hoped for since he was the #2 overall pick in 2012. In fact, he was probably much better in September than anyone would have ever thought. Not only did he show his great speed, but he showed the power that many wondered if he would ever be able to show. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily Byron Buxton looked different this year. On the Winter Caravan, at Twins Fest or throughout Spring Training, Buxton looked much more relaxed, much more comfortable. it’s amazing the effect of success can have on a person. After struggles and demotions marred much of his first two seasons, he came back up on September 1st last year and showed the promise so many had hoped for since he was the #2 overall pick in 2012. In fact, he was probably much better in September than anyone would have ever thought. Not only did he show his great speed, but he showed the power that many wondered if he would ever be able to show. It was assumed coming into spring training that Buxton would hit either first or ninth in the lineup. But his continues solid showing and confidence in spring training caused manager Paul Molitor to consider putting him in the #3 spot in the lineup. Buxton routinely turns regular singles into doubles, and doubles into triples. The ball comes off his bat and it becomes must-watch TV So what do you expect to see from Byron Buxton in 2017? Has he taken The Step to stardom, or will he find struggles? Most likely the answer is somewhere in between. So aside from outstanding defense (which we believe is a given), what do you predict for Buxton this season? Be sure to post your thoughts and your predictions into the comments below. It’s always fun to take a look at the end of the season and see how our predictions look. KEY NUMBERS .561 - When Byron Buxton was optioned to Rochester in early August, he was hitting .193/.247/.315 (.561) in 63 games played. He came back up on September 1st, and over the final 29 games, he hit .287/.357/.653 (1.011) with 17 extra base hits, including nine homers. He raised his season OPS from .561 to .714. 31.9%, 35.6% - Striking out is something that Byron Buxton has done a lot in his young major league career. In his first season, he struck out 31.9% of the time. In 2016, he struck out 35.6% of his plate appearances. Even during his hot stretch in September, he struck out 38 times in 113 plate appearances (33.6%). While he was overmatched much of the time, it isn’t something that I think is a long-term risk. His strikeout rates in Low A, High A and AA were all under 20% Hopefully Buxton will be able to cut down on his strikeouts without it affecting his aggressiveness. PREDICTIONS Byron Buxton: 553 at-bats, .266/.316/.463 (.779), 31 doubles, 12 triples, 18 home runs. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Byron Buxton, despite a 93 OPS+ in 2016, his bWAR was 1.9 because of his defense. Byron Buxton has tremendous value to the Twins even if his offense is just MLB average. As the Twins signed Jason Castro to help improve the pitching, having Byron Buxton manning centerfield on a nearly everyday basis. I have Buxton playing in 154 games. Hopefully that is low. If what we saw in in September is a sign of things to come, not that he needs to post a 1.000 OPS all the time, then there are exciting times ahead of the Twins and their fans. As I wrote above, his ability to turn singles into doubles and doubles into triples will certainly help with his slugging percentage. I think he will approach what would be very close to another Twins single-season strikeouts record, though a healthy Sano will make that nothing to worry about for Buxton. If Paul Molitor puts him in the #3 spot in the order, with speed and on-base guys in front of him, he should be able to drive in a lot of runs. I think a Gold Glove and an All Star berth are possible in 2017, and there will be several of each in years to come. YOUR TURN Your turn. Share your thoughts on and predictions on Byron Buxton in 2017. We can take a look back at the end of the season and see how we did. PREVIOUS PREDICTIONS Jason Castro Joe Mauer Brian Dozier Miguel Sano Jorge Polanco Eddie Rosario Byron Buxton View full article

Things slow down as we get older, it’s a fact of life. Much has been made of Phil Hughes’ radar gun readings this spring, but pitchers have been being forced to learn how to pitch with diminished velocity for ages. This is nothing new. The good news is you don’t have to look too far back to find a pitcher who successfully reinvented himself after losing a few ticks on his fastball. Just last season, CC Sabathia reemerged for the Yankees, logging a 3.91 ERA over 30 starts. His ERA the previous three seasons combined had been nearly a run higher. Image courtesy of Kim Klement, USA Today Things slow down as we get older, it’s a fact of life. Much has been made of Phil Hughes’ radar gun readings this spring, but pitchers have been being forced to learn how to pitch with diminished velocity for ages. This is nothing new. The good news is you don’t have to look too far back to find a pitcher who successfully reinvented himself after losing a few ticks on his fastball. Just last season, CC Sabathia reemerged for the Yankees, logging a 3.91 ERA over 30 starts. His ERA the previous three seasons combined had been nearly a run higher. Mike Axisa did a great year-end writeup for River Ave Blues on Sabathia in which he highlighted three key ingredients that contributed to the new and improved CC: 1) His new knee brace; 2) His new cutter, and; 3) His sobriety. Here’s with how Sabathia explained his success to Newsday’s Anthony Rieber in August. “I have more choices. I can use my changeup, I can throw the backdoor slider, my cutter, obviously. I’m more well-equipped with what I have now.” Sabathia and Hughes are two different people and very different pitchers, but I think Twins fans can look to CC’s turnaround as a source of optimism. It sounds like Hughes is finally healthy and he’s working hard on evolving his pitching repertoire. Back in January, Nick Nelson was already warning people not to sleep on Hughes. Considering the amount of work Hughes has been able to get in this spring. I wasn’t ready to hop aboard the comeback train quite yet at that point, but after seeing the amount of work Hughes has been able to log this spring, I’m starting to come around. Yes, even despite some pretty ugly numbers, I’m encouraged about what we’ve seen from Hughes. He has a 6.55 ERA and has given up seven home runs in 22 official innings this spring, but he’s put in a ton of work on his breaking and offspeed pitches. Mike Berardino sent out a Tweet during Hughes’ most recent outing on Monday saying that of his final 24 pitches, Hughes threw just five fastballs. A few months ago I would have confidently bet against Hughes even being ready for the season. Yet here we are, just a few days from the opener, and one could argue he actually appears to be the starter most ready to go out and give the Twins 100 pitches. That’s remarkable considering what he’s been through since June. It’s easy to forget all of Hughes’ most recent injuries don’t have anything directly to do with his pitching arm. His 2016 season ended when a batted ball fractured his leg. He underwent surgery to remove a rib in order to correct thoracic outlet syndrome. That should help solve his issues with nerves and blood vessels that resulted in numbness in his pitching hand. But it’s not like there was anything wrong structurally with Hughes’ elbow or shoulder. Now before people try to have me committed, I’d just like to temper enthusiasm. Even after a successful reinvention, Sabathia is never going to get back to being a perennial Cy Young contender. The Phil Hughes of 2014 is gone, and he’s probably never coming back. Over the past two seasons Hughes has a 4.83 ERA and opposing hitters have teed off on him to the tune of a .296/.320/.502 line. He needs to improve, but coming off a season in which Twins starters posted a league-worst 5.39 ERA, the bar in which we measure Hughes’ success doesn’t need to be set at his 2014 levels. Sabathia’s turnaround was the result of him basically abandoning his four seamer and instead leaning on the cutter. Hughes already features a cutter, but he’s trying to develop his changeup this spring in the hopes that added wrinkle can be the magic ingredient that keeps hitters off balance. This much is for sure: even if he’s 100 percent healthy Hughes cannot continue to pitch the way he has the past two seasons and expect better results. I think we can conclude that his average fastball velocity probably isn’t getting back to over 93 mph like it was in 2014. The good news is he and Neil Allen appear to be well aware of that fact. Here’s what Allen told Mike Berardino earlier this month: “It’s hard for a veteran guy who’s been doing things one way for as many years as he has to change. But we’ve got to make him change.” To Hughes’ credit, he appears to be buying into the evolution. The results haven’t always pretty, but as he explained to La Velle E. Neal III after a recent rocky outing, spring training is the perfect time to tinker. “Obviously I’ve had my struggles the last couple of years and I’m not satisfied with just hoping things will get better because of surgery or something like that. I’m actively trying to become a better pitcher all around. There’s not a better time than spring training to start working on stuff and incorporate different things and get a feel for new pitches you are trying to work on.” Even if he gets off to a rough start, I’m hoping Hughes remains committed to reinventing himself. The Twins have him under contract for another $13.2 million over each of the next two seasons. It may not be this year, but sometime over the life of that contract the Twins are going to look to Hughes to be a contributing member of a winning rotation. I anticipate there to be some rough patches, but it makes all the sense in the world for the Twins to give Hughes every opportunity to solve the riddle of what he needs to do to reinvent himself. It may seem like a long shot, but if CC Sabathia can reignite his career, why not Phil Hughes? View full article

Because it's a team game... And guys need days off for physical, mental or other reasons.

He was on with Mackey and Judd as well this morning and said a lot of the same things.

Confidence is something that Eddie Rosario has never really lacked, especially on the baseball field. As Paul Molitor said earlier this spring after Rosario had a three-hit night for Puerto Rico in the WBC “we all know it, Rosie loves the big lights.” That goes back to his days in Elizabethton where he and Miguel Sano put on an incredible power display and Rosario was named Appy League MVP. Rosario moved up the ranks quickly until his 50-game suspension before the 2014 season. However, he was called up early in 2015 and finished 6th in the American League Rookie of the Year voting and had double-digits in many offensive and defensive categories. However, early in 2016, Rosario was sent down to Rochester for a month, needing to reclaim his game. He came back and was better. He was a star on the Puerto Rican WBC team, performing well both offensively and defensively. He hit for power, provided a game-winning RBI in the semi-finals game in extra innings, and showed off his rocket arm. Twins fans knew of Rosario, but the WBC made him a household name. Image courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, USA Today Confidence is something that Eddie Rosario has never really lacked, especially on the baseball field. As Paul Molitor said earlier this spring after Rosario had a three-hit night for Puerto Rico in the WBC “we all know it, Rosie loves the big lights.” That goes back to his days in Elizabethton where he and Miguel Sano put on an incredible power display and Rosario was named Appy League MVP. Rosario moved up the ranks quickly until his 50-game suspension before the 2014 season. However, he was called up early in 2015 and finished 6th in the American League Rookie of the Year voting and had double-digits in many offensive and defensive categories. However, early in 2016, Rosario was sent down to Rochester for a month, needing to reclaim his game. He came back and was better. He was a star on the Puerto Rican WBC team, performing well both offensively and defensively. He hit for power, provided a game-winning RBI in the semi-finals game in extra innings, and showed off his rocket arm. Twins fans knew of Rosario, but the WBC made him a household name. Can the WBC performance push Rosario to a big season for the Twins in 2017? We shall see, but let’s at least put together some predictions and see how we look at the end of the season. Below you will find my predictions (or guesses, if you prefer) for Eddie Rosario’s 2017 season. Consider posting your thoughts and your predictions into the comments below. It’s always fun to take a look at the end of the season and see how our predictions look. KEY NUMBERS 3.2, 3.4 - These are the walk rates for Rosario in his first two MLB seasons. That is remarkably low. His IsoD (Isolated Discipline) is just .024 over those two years. As interesting, or maybe more interesting, Rosario has swung at an incredible 46% of pitches that are outside of the strike zone according to Pitch F/X. .738, .724 - Rosario has posted a .738 OPS against right-handers and a .724 OPS against left-handers. To this point, he has not shown a significant platoon split. PREDICTIONS Eddie Rosario: 516 at-bats, .274/.306/.452 (.749), 29 doubles, 6 triples, 17 home runs. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Because of Rosario’s lack of platoon splits, he should be able to play most every day. However, they need to get other guys some playing time and I think that will happen primarily in left field (as opposed to center or right, and often if the centerfielder gets the day off, Rosario can take over there). Because of his extreme aggressiveness and lack of strike zone knowledge, he is certainly more likely to have some extreme streaks in the season. But I do believe he will take a step forward in 2017. He is now 25 and has more playing time. Hopefully he learned from playing with the likes of Carlos Beltran, Angel Pagan and Yadier Molina in the WBC. I think he can show more power, particularly doubles power. In 2016, Rosario showed his inconsistency and over-aggressiveness on offense and defense. While he has a strong arm, he was more erratic. Hopefully he’ll be able to maintain his energy while finding a way to relax a bit more and not try to do too much. YOUR TURN Your turn. Share your thoughts on and predictions on Eddie Rosario in 2017. We can take a look back at the end of the season and see how we did. PREVIOUS PREDICTIONS Jason Castro Joe Mauer Brian Dozier Miguel Sano Jorge Polanco Eddie Rosario View full article

Ha! My bad. I've been typing "Aderlin Mejia" for 4-5 years, and "Adalberto Mejia" only going back to last August. Bear with me!

They know exactly what they're doing. No doubt about that. And, it's just a short-term thing. Also, when you have this short of a bench, a guy like Santana - even if he's not great in any defensive spot - has value.

I personally think that's the best spot for him, and he could do very well out there.

My guess is that he isn't guaranteed anything. They'll likely get his oblique healthy and send him out on a full 20-day rehab and see what they see at that time, offensively and defensively.

Reports out of Ft. Myers tell us that the Twins have made their final roster cuts and we know the - at least tentative - Opening Day roster. (Please note that the Twins have not made these moves official yet, so it is subject to some editing if we learn anything more.) Adalberto Mejia is the 5th starter. Tyler Duffey will pitch out of the bullpen. Chris Gimenez will be added to the 40-man roster and be the backup catcher. John Ryan Murphy was optioned. Byungho Park was reassigned to minor league camp. (as were JB Shuck, Matt Hague, Bengie Gonzalez, Ben Paulsen, and Eddy Rodriguez) It is not yet known whether Kennys Vargas has been optioned or whether he'll start the season on the Disabled List. What does it all mean? Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily Reports out of Ft. Myers tell us that the Twins have made their final roster cuts and we know the - at least tentative - Opening Day roster. (Please note that the Twins have not made these moves official yet, so it is subject to some editing if we learn anything more.) Adalberto Mejia is the 5th starter. Tyler Duffey will pitch out of the bullpen. Chris Gimenez will be added to the 40-man roster and be the backup catcher. John Ryan Murphy was optioned. Byungho Park was reassigned to minor league camp. (as were JB Shuck, Matt Hague, Bengie Gonzalez, Ben Paulsen, and Eddy Rodriguez) It is not yet known whether Kennys Vargas has been optioned or whether he'll start the season on the Disabled List. What does it all mean? In a strange and surprising decision, the Twins have decided to start the season with 13 pitchers. Mejia has won the fifth starter job, but Duffey is also on the roster. With two off days in the first nine days of the season, it's an interesting decision to go with 13 pitchers. It certainly limits Paul Molitor's bench, but then again, it isn't as if there are guys on the roster that will be used as pinch hitters. The core of the lineup is comprised of guys that won't be pinch hit for. But it is limiting, no doubt. With Park heading to AAA to start the season and Vargas seemingly on the DL, it means that the Twins primary Designated Hitter will be Robbie Grossman (a move I discussed in our forums two weeks ago, and yet am a bit surprised about). If Park was on the 40-man roster, there would be no doubt that he would be on the roster, but since he isn't, many will be very surprised by the decision. He hit over .350 and hit six home runs. Though, as we always remind people, spring training stats don't matter. So here is the Twins tentative Opening Day roster: Starting Pitchers: Ervin Santana Hector Santiago Kyle Gibson Phil Hughes Adalberto Mejia Bullpen: Brandon Kintzler Matt Belisle Ryan Pressly Taylor Rogers Craig Breslow Michael Tonkin Justin Haley Tyler Duffey Ryan O'Rourke (DL) Catchers: Jason Castro Chris Gimenez Infielders: Joe Mauer Brian Dozier Miguel Sano Jorge Polanco Eduardo Escobar Ehire Adrianza (DL) Outfielders: Eddie Rosario Byron Buxton Max Kepler Robbie Grossman Danny Santana So there you have it. A long, extended (due to WBC) spring training is all-but-complete. We have our tentative Opening Day roster, and the team will soon travel to Minneapolis for Monday's Opening Day. Why do I keep saying 'tentative Opening Day roster?' It is also likely that Derek Falvey and Thad Levine are fielding phone calls from other teams or agents looking to find roster spots for their players. In reality, it's possible the roster changes by April 3rd. It's also likely the roster is very different even within the next two or three weeks. In fact, John Bonnes flies out of Ft. Myers today, but he was able to be in the clubhouse this morning where he reported the following after the press met with manager Paul Molitor. Molitor referred to the roster as "short term." https://twitter.com/twinsdaily/status/847441613718720513 What do you think? View full article

When people talked about the Minnesota Twins top prospects in recent years, the names Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton, Max Kepler and Jose Berrios. All the while, Jorge Polanco continued to rise and succeed (and often found his name in the bottom quarter of national Top 100 prospect rankings). In fact, he was the first of the group to get to the big leagues when he was promoted to the big leagues from Ft. Myers in 2014. That was a cup of coffee, and the same thing happened in 2015. It wasn’t until Eduardo Nunez was traded in July that Polanco came up and was handed the keys to a starting job. After coming through the system playing both shortstop and second base, his struggles at shortstop caused the team to move him to second base last year in spring training. However, his opportunity with the Twins came at shortstop. He struggled, so that will be a big story for Polanco and the Twins in 2017. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily When people talked about the Minnesota Twins top prospects in recent years, the names Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton, Max Kepler and Jose Berrios. All the while, Jorge Polanco continued to rise and succeed (and often found his name in the bottom quarter of national Top 100 prospect rankings). In fact, he was the first of the group to get to the big leagues when he was promoted to the big leagues from Ft. Myers in 2014. That was a cup of coffee, and the same thing happened in 2015. It wasn’t until Eduardo Nunez was traded in July that Polanco came up and was handed the keys to a starting job. After coming through the system playing both shortstop and second base, his struggles at shortstop caused the team to move him to second base last year in spring training. However, his opportunity with the Twins came at shortstop. He struggled, so that will be a big story for Polanco and the Twins in 2017. Offensively, Polanco has been very consistent as he’s moved up the organizational ladder. In 132 games in AA, he hit .287/.340/.380 (.719). In 97 AAA games, he hit .278/.329/.433 (.762). So far in 78 big league games, he has hit .284/.340/.429 (.769). Polanco is now out of options. The shortstop job is his. Will he run with it? Can he take the next step and put it all together offensively and defensively? Below you will find my predictions (or guesses, if you prefer) for Jorge Polanco’s 2017 season. Consider posting your thoughts and your predictions into the comments below. It’s always fun to take a look at the end of the season and see how our predictions look. KEY NUMBERS (-9.3) - That is Jorge Polanco’s defensive WAR according to FanGraphs. And that was in just 69 total games. His UZR/150 came in at (-32.3). Those are the numbers that Polanco will need to overcome defensively. To expect him to be a plus defender probably isn’t fair. To hope that he can be an adequate, or even average, defender is fair. 0.857 - That is Polanco’s OPS against left-handed pitchers. Against right-handers, he posted a .718 OPS. He is a natural right-hander, but he’s had many more at bats left-handed in his career. There is more power right-handed. PREDICTIONS Jorge Polanco: 456 at-bats, .287/.333/.436 (.769), 23 doubles, 6 triples, 11 home runs. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Of the starters shown so far, I have Polanco at the fewest games played. First, I think the defense will cause Molitor to want to give him more time off and allow Eduardo Escobar to get into the lineup. I have him playing 135 games. When Polanco was signed, he was a skinny kid. He has grown a lot, topping 200 pounds within the last couple of years. He has developed some power. That’s not to say he’s a 20 homer hitter, but he can certainly hit the teens in homers with more at bats. He’s got good speed to turn singles into doubles and doubles into triples. In the second half last season, Polanco hit all over the lineup. Most of his at bats came in the #2 spot in the lineup. That is a good spot for him. However, I would guess we’ll see him all over the lineup, near the top or the bottom from day-to-day. YOUR TURN Your turn. Share your thoughts on and predictions on Jorge Polanco in 2017. We can take a look back at the end of the season and see how we did. PREVIOUS PREDICTIONS Jason Castro Joe Mauer Brian Dozier Miguel Sano Jorge Polanco View full article

Correct. The topic is covered and discussed further in the Stuart Turner thread. http://twinsdaily.com/topic/25283-stuart-turner-return/

Today, the Twins released: RHP Seth Rosin RHP Confesor Lara IF Chris Ibarra 1B Reynaldo Rodriguez Again, no surprises, but remember also that the Twins still have to account for about 11-12 guys who need to report to minor league camp yet this week.

It looks like Stuart Turner has made the Reds Opening Day roster and he'll stick with them at least until Devin Mesoraco is able to come back.

http://www.1500espn.com/twins-2/2017/03/mining-minors-baseball-americas-michael-lananna-twins-system-prospects/ Michael Lananna is the one who did the Twins Top Prospect rankings this year for Baseball America. 1500 ESPNs Jake Depue chatted with him recently about this process for evaluation and rankings. They also discussed Stephen Gonsalves, Tyler Jay, Daniel Palka, Engelb Vielma, Nick Gordon and more. Very interesting!

Might Sano set a record for the Twins in 2016. His 178 strikeouts broke Brian Dozier’s one-year-old record of 148 punchouts in 2015. It was an impressive feat considering he missed the month of June on the Disabled List. Sano enters 2017 knowing he will be back at his more natural position, third base, after last year’s erstwhile attempt in right field. While most consider Sano’s 2016 a down season, he still had 25 home runs. However, after such a strong showing in the final three months of 2015, expectations were very high. Still just 23-years-old, Sano has a ton of potential. His power remains legit, but he’ll need to find a way to put the ball in play more often. That’s the question at the plate. Meanwhile, there are lingering questions about how well he will be able to play third base defensively too. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily Might Sano set a record for the Twins in 2016. His 178 strikeouts broke Brian Dozier’s one-year-old record of 148 punchouts in 2015. It was an impressive feat considering he missed the month of June on the Disabled List. Sano enters 2017 knowing he will be back at his more natural position, third base, after last year’s erstwhile attempt in right field. While most consider Sano’s 2016 a down season, he still had 25 home runs. However, after such a strong showing in the final three months of 2015, expectations were very high. Still just 23-years-old, Sano has a ton of potential. His power remains legit, but he’ll need to find a way to put the ball in play more often. That’s the question at the plate. Meanwhile, there are lingering questions about how well he will be able to play third base defensively too. What can Miguel Sano do in 2017? Can he take the next step and put it all together offensively and defensively? Can he come close to the .916 OPS he put up in 80 games as a rookie, or will his OPS be closer to the .781 mark he hit in 2016? Below you will find my predictions (or guesses, if you prefer) for Miguel Sano’s 2017 season. Consider posting your thoughts and your predictions into the comments below. It’s always fun to take a look at the end of the season and see how our predictions look. KEY NUMBERS 35.5% and 36.0% - These are Miguel Sano’s strikeout rates in his first two MLB seasons. Frankly, these are numbers that really need to drop. It isn’t going to happen over night, and his 43% K-Rate in spring training doesn’t exactly lend itself to much confidence. As disappointing, his walk rate dropped from 15.8% in his freshman season to 10.9% in his second season. 10.9% is still solid, no question about that, but these two numbers are patterns to watch. Consider slugger Chris Carter. He led the the National League with 41 home runs in 2016, yet he had to wait most of the offseason to sign (for just $3 million) in large part because he’s one-dimensional and strikes out a ton. Just once in the last five years has he had a K-rate as high as Sano’s these first two years. He’s been in the 31-32% range except one year he had a 36.2% K-rate. It’s just indicative of why it’s important for Sano to do more than DH and reduce his strikeout rate. 0.896 - That is the fielding percentage Sano had in 42 games in 2017. Not to beat a dead horse, but Sano will have to prove he can handle the position. Personally, I think he’ll be fine, bumping that number closer to 0.940. With the Twins in a transition season, hopefully between a 59-win season and a possible playoff berth, it’s worth giving Sano the full year, but his value is much higher if he can stay at third base. PREDICTIONS Miguel Sano: 553 at-bats, .253/.346/.506 (.852), 32 doubles, 3 triples, 34 home runs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Part of these numbers is Sano finding a way to stay on the field. I have him playing in 148 games. If he is able to stay at third base and stay healthy, I think he’ll put up some monster numbers, probably even higher than what I have shown here. The key, of course, will be finding a way to put the ball in play more often. Striking out 36% of the time just isn’t a good way to find success. If he is able to play this much I have little doubt that he will be able to put up his first 30-homer season. It will be an interesting season for Miguel Sano, filled with lots of questions. Can he reduce his strikeout rate? How many runs can he drive in? Will he be able to play adequately at third base, or will he be limited to just DHing for the rest of his career? YOUR TURN Your turn. Share your thoughts on and predictions on Miguel Sano in 2017. We can take a look back at the end of the season and see how we did. PREVIOUS PREDICTIONS Jason Castro Joe Mauer Brian Dozier Miguel Sano View full article