Miguel Sano is Key to Minnesota Twins' Future

By Jeric Griffin
Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

The Minnesota Twins weren’t great in 2012, finishing last in the American League’s Central division with a 66-96 record. They finished only two games behind the Cleveland Indians (68-94) but they still finished last. Heading into 2013, the Twins will look to expedite the growth of their top prospect, third baseman Miguel Sano.

He’s only 19 years old, but Sano is to the Twins what Jurickson Profar is to the Texas Rangers. Sano is still very raw, but his sheer talent is enough to overcome some growing pains early in the big leagues. At 6’3″ and 195 pounds, he has extraordinary power for a player his size, and that’s saying something.

The main knock against Sano is his plate discipline. While with Low-A Deloit, Sano struck out 144 times to go along with 118 hits. He can really dominate at the plate when he’s patient–28 home runs and 60 hits for extra bases last season–but he’s still relatively inconsistent. However, scouts believe that major-league coaching can fix that, especially considering how incredibly young he is. What’s more is his on-base percentage was still high even with all the strikeouts; he was walked 80 times this season.

The Twins can really use Sano’s bat while continuing to develop his defense. He’s definitely not the best fielder among all the big league prospects this year, but his raw athleticism leads scouts to believe this can be fixed relatively quickly. The Twins better hope so because they need Sano now–not later.

Jeric Griffin is the Director of Content for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JericGriffin, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google

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