nytwinsfan

Now 7 innings and 11 Ks. Couple more games like this and he'll find himself in Fort Myers.

He had a concussion and about three other injuries, otherwise he'd almost certainly be up by now. He doesn't turn 22 until December. There is no doubt in my mind he will up before he is 23 unless one of his legs falls off. Relax.

I'm pretty sure Jeremy will say No, and Yes to those two questions.

Nope, give him some more time. He's been rushed time and time again. Plus Robinson is playing fine for now, and it makes no sense for Hicks to replace Schafer (leaving two CFs that hit better against lefties).

That's definitely not always or even almost always true. Josh Donaldson made his full season debut at 27. Chase Utley at 26. Jose Bautista at 25. Joey Votto when 24.

Regarding Sano's fielding, a tale of two plays:

Well, you have to go BPA, but that being said, if you think two players left on the board are equally valuable, I would agree with you that the Twins should look for an outfielder. Ian Happ is probably the only college player to fit the bill, but Kyle Tucker would fit from HS. Jeremy didn't mention him, but Trenton Clark is another outfielder with maybe a little less power but with the hit tool and more speed/defense. He's also been said to have superb makeup, which honestly should matter on the margins. Most projections I've seen put him mid-first round, not early, so unless the Twins are really high on him, probably unlikely. More likely would be Happ or Tucker.

Because Tate will be off the board by 6, that pretty much limits it to Aiken and maybe Matuella, both of whom are having TJ surgery. I might be ok with that if it turns out Aiken's elbow just needs routine TJ, but otherwise I'd say no and go with a position player.

Ian Happ!!!

Desperately needed good news. $%*# yeah! This is why he needs to keep starting. Even if he has only a 20% chance of starting long-term (I think it is probably higher than that) it is worth the extra development time. It isn't like we are one good reliever away from competing this year anyway.

Yikes. This is a huge bummer, as Fernandez looked great early this season. Hopefully it is a short-term thing like Pinto's was.

Makes me quesy. Get better soon buddy.

Just to play Debbie Downer, Harrison's BABIP is currently .455. That being said, that doesn't explain the increased power so far, so there is still good reason to be optimistic.

Miguel Sano's stats after 10 games: G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI 10 42 33 8 6 0 0 2 6 BB HBP SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 8 1 12 1 0 .182 .357 .364 .721 Some other key advanced stats: K% BB% BABIP ISO 28.6 19% .211 .182 A couple of thoughts: First, 10 games is a small sample size, so obviously everyone should look at these stats with a huge grain of salt, but so far Sano is holding his own at the plate, despite understandable rust. His BB% looks great and is higher than his normal 11-14% range. His K% is right about the same as it has been in previous years (mid to high 20s). It is his low BABIP and his ISO that are dragging him down. Whether this is rust, and a resulting failure to make consistent good contact or just bad luck is unclear. Finally, it may also be worth noting that Sano has only had a single PA against a lefty (he walked), and his splits in the past show he has an advantage against lefties (2013 OPS v. LH = 1.183 ; 2013 OPS v. RH = .808) So facing more lefties as the season goes on should also help his overall stats improve. Whether rust or bad luck, or both, I expect his OPS to improve by at least .100 by the time he reaches 20 games. Let's see if my prediction pans out. As for his work in the field, so far Sano has two errors in 16 chances, which is not great, but doesn't tell us much in light of the small sample size. I hope that anyone who has had a chance to see him in Chatanooga at 3B will chime in and give us their impressions. Sano's ability to stay at 3B is obviously critical to his short and medium term value, and so any info on this would be very helpful.

Obviously I haven't scouted them in person, so that would probably be more important, all else being equal, but based on my limited sense, probably Happ. I don't see Bregman or Newman having the same upside. Maybe Nikorak, but I don't know enough about him.

Right now he sounds somewhat like Gibson in terms of his K/BB and batted ball profile. That's not a bad place to start from, and if he can end up being a Gibson with a bit more strikeouts, that would be a solid 2 or 3 starter.

Great profile! I've read in a number of places that Gonsalves' biggest weakness is his breaking ball. See for example, here (#15), here (although for ESPN insiders only), and here (#13). If you see anything about how his breaking ball is progressing, that would be particularly interesting, as it is probably the main thing limiting him from being a top tier prospect in the near future.

Doesn't look like anyone adopted Jorge Fernandez as a prospect. That's a shame. I might do it if nobody else does.

Totally agreed, except for Gibson, who I think should be given a much longer leash.

Wow, as depressing as yesterday's major league game was, the combined minor league teams' performances were equally exhilarating.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmemegenerator.net%2FWhy-Not-Both-Girl&ei=9jMtVe_mGdPrggTPpISIBw&bvm=bv.90790515,d.eXY&psig=AFQjCNEoniBahhir-557jnWQEysdhB3abQ&ust=1429112181214350 Combination of bad decisions (Hunter, Nolasco, Boyd, Stauffer, Robinson, etc.) and bad luck (Santana, high opponent BABIP, low Twins' BABIP, etc.)

I have not heard Newman's name anywhere near that high before. Interesting. Also, surprised he has Matuella ahead of Aiken. That makes no sense to me. I would be interested in Happ, and maybe Swanson, but otherwise would go with a pitcher or high school outfielder.

Yeah, I don't think that's Buxton's ceiling, I think that's his "we're very happy with how he turned out." His ceiling is Andrew McCutchen with even better defense and a few more SBs.

Nope, no concerns yet. He is understandably probably rusty, and is facing what is essentially a new level. Plus, even if those two things were not true, a sample size of three games in which he walked and got two hits, one a HR, wouldn't be by itself be a concern.

How many baseball players, let alone baseball prospects, have had a feature-length documentary made about their careeers? Well, Miguel Angel Sano has had not one, but (soon) two documentaries made about his career. That crazy fact actually begins to make a lot of sense, once you realize that you'd be hard pressed to finda more talented, charismatic, and larger-than-life personality to make a baseball film about. So if you haven't seen Pelotero yet, what are you even doing here? Go watch it now and then come back. It is a fantastic film for any fan of baseball (or of documentary film for that matter), and certainly a must-see for any Twins fan. 2015 Assignment: Chatanooga Lookouts Position: 3rd Base (hopefully for a while) Height/Weight: 6'4" Appox. 250 lbs. (Sano was at 260 lbs. during early spring training, but claims to have lost 10 lbs. on a recent "master cleanse" diet). Handness: (B/T): R/R Age: 21 Years old (May 11th, 1993) Nickname: Bocaton ("big mouth") Twitter: @SanoMiguel Scouting Grades: Mlb.com (future grade): Hit:55 | Power: 80 | Run: 40 | Arm: 60 | Field: 40 | Overall: 65 Fangraphs: Hit:50 | Game Power: 70 | Raw Power: 70 | Run: 40 | Arm: 60 | Field: 45+ | Overall: 60 BA: Hit: 50 | Power: 70 | Speed: 40 | Defense: 45 | Arm: 70 2015 MLB Prospect Rankings: MLB.com: 12 Fangraphs: 15 Baseball Prospectus: 12 John Sickels: 22 Keith Law:15 2015 Twins Prospects Rankings: Twins Daily: 2 Aaron Gleeman: 2 MLB.com: 2 Fangraphs: 2 John Sickels: 2 (hmm, noticing a pattern here) Previous Years' Stats: Season Team G PA HR R BB% K% ISO BABIP AVG OBP SLG wOBA wRC+ 2010 Twins (R] 20 80 3 11 17.5 % 21.3 % .203 .422 .344 .463 .547 .485 191 2010 Twins (R] 41 161 4 23 6.2 % 26.7 % .182 .382 .291 .338 .473 .393 136 2011 Twins (R] 66 293 20 58 7.8 % 26.3 % .345 .339 .292 .352 .637 .419 153 2012 Twins (A) 129 553 28 75 14.5 % 26.0 % .263 .307 .258 .373 .521 .396 146 2013 Twins (A+) 56 243 16 51 11.9 % 25.1 % .325 .397 .330 .424 .655 .477 203 2013 Twins (AA) 67 276 19 35 13.0 % 29.3 % .335 .265 .236 .344 .571 .397 145 2015 Season Outlook: This year, unfortunately, any discussion of Sano has to start with his recovery from Tommy John surgery in March 2014, which cost him an entire year of development. While Tommy John surgery is not as likely to derail the career of a position player as it is a pitcher, it is still a significant setback for Sano, who will have to rely heavily on his powerful arm to stay at third base. While scouting reports and video suggest that Sano, who is surprisingly agile for his size, is quite good at charging choppers and bunts, his lateral quickness is not as highly rated. His strong arm may help him play further back to give him extra time for lateral movement, but obviously any reduction in strength to his arm from the surgery would undermine the capacity. Luckily reports from spring training and Chattanooga suggest his arm appears as strong as ever, which is good news for Sano’s ability to stay at third base, where his bat is much more valuable to the Twins. Unfortunately, even before the TJ surgery, some already thought Sano would not stay at third base for long. As for his bat, Sano will likely have some rustiness for at least a couple of weeks, if not months. Sano is of course known for his prodigious power, an average to above-average hit tool (with potential for more according to some), and an excellent eye at the plate, albeit with high strikeout rates. So even if he does not stick at third base, which would be quite unfortunate, his bat will play anywhere, including right field or first base. Nevertheless, because he would provide more value at third base, allowing the Twins to play Mauer, Vargas, and Pinto (and in the future, possibly Arcia, A. Minier, L. Diaz, or a free agent) at DH and/or 1B, the Twins will undoubtedly give Sano every possible chance to stick at third. Along those lines, the Twins seem intent on making sure Sano stays in reasonably good shape, which is essential for a 250 pound person to play decent defense at third base. Future Outlook: If you want to dream really big, read this description of Sano’s swing/approach from December 2012, in which Kiley McDaniel (now led Fangraphs prospect analyst) compares Sano’s swing to some pretty big names: Obviously, comps to Cabrera and Pujols in their primes, with both plus plus power and plus plus hitting, are the extreme upside. While Sano certainly has enough raw power for that, scouts are mixed on whether his hitting will ever be a truly plus tool, or merely average or even slightly below average. But even if Sano's hitting never progresses beyond averages of .250 to 270, his phenomenal power and ability to take a walk, along with the potential for slightly below-average defense at third base should make him an extremely valuable commodity for years to come and a cornerstone of the next Twins' wave. ETA in the Majors: There has been a lot of debate about when Sano will and should arrive at Target Field, and obviously a lot of that depends on how rusty he is after a year without playing, and on how Trevor Plouffe plays this spring and summer, but my guess is sometime late this summer in July or August, unless he goes on a tear early and forces the issue. http://www.twinsdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/miguel-sano.jpg