Five Reasons to Promote Miguel Sano this September

Five Reasons to Promote Miguel Sano this September

The Minnesota Twins have been blessed to have two mega-prospects in Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton enter their minor league system. These type of prospects are future building blocks that franchises crave and the Twins have been fortunate enough to have two in their system at the same time. The Twins have enjoyed the benefits of having Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau carry the franchise over the past decade, but both of those players are entering the twilights of their careers and will become more complementary players than building blocks over the next few years. With that in mind, the Twins will be looking to Sano and Buxton to lead the team into the next decade; but when will Sano and Buxton be ready to contribute at the majors?

Buxton has only played one full season of professional baseball and is still a year or more away from being called up to the majors. Sano, on the other hand, has risen through the minors with ease over the past few years and now is at Double-A. The Twins have shown this year that they are not afraid to promote a player directly from Double-A—see Aaron Hicks—and Sano could possibly be the next player to join this path to the majors. After a slow start at Double-A, Sano has adapted quickly to the new playing level and is now among the most dangerous and accomplished hitters in Double-A.

With Sano playing so well and the minor league season coming to an end soon, is it possible the Twins will call-up Sano as part of their September call-ups? I personally believe they should; read on to hear my five reasons why.

Brian Wille is a Minnesota Twins writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @BeeWill15 or “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google

5. Trevor Plouffe

Plouffe has had a wildly inconsistent season in 2013, but hasn’t had the immediate competition to push him to continue his development. Should Sano come up and play significantly over the month of September, Plouffe could be recommitted this off-season on becoming a better ballplayer. In addition, it could signal a position change or change of scenery for Plouffe if Sano demonstrates he is the better option at third base.

4. Justin Morneau’s Future

If Sano comes up and demonstrates he is comfortable and able to play at the majors, it could prompt the Twins to try out Plouffe at fist over the last few weeks of the season. This could affect Morneau’s future with the team this off-season, but it will at least give the Twins an opportunity to see what a potential lineup will look like if Morneau is not resigned this off-season. It could also help determine for the Twins whether or not they need to pursue Morneau aggressively or let him walk via free agency.

3. Reward Excellence

Sano has had a great year this year and calling him up for a one-month reward would be a nice carrot to place in front of Sano heading into the off-season. There is no reason to believe that Sano won’t work hard this off-season to improve and win the starting job at third next spring, but giving him a taste of the majors to reward his performance this season would be a fitting end to another dominant season.

2. Fan Attraction

The Twins have all but eliminated themselves from contention this year and with football set to get under way in September, it is going to become increasingly difficult to keep fans interested and get them to come out to the ballpark. By promoting Sano, fans would be reenergized to pay attention to the team over the final month and it may be a nice way to keep interest high heading into an off-season filled with uncertainty.

1. Experience

Whether it is a month or a week, experience at the majors is tough to come by and by bringing up Sano this September, the team can get a great look at how far along Sano’s development is heading into next season. Spring training simply doesn’t do a very good job simulating the grind and difficulty of playing at the majors and by giving Sano a month’s audition of playing with the team, the team can get a good evaluation of Sano’s abilities and development and can make the necessary roster adjustments this off-season based off that evaluation.