Miguel Sano is only 18 years old. He turns 19 on May 11. And he is hitting .238/.396/.643 in one of the toughest hitting environments in baseball. With 5 homers to lead the Midwest League, even. And he’s only getting started as the #1 prospect in the Minnesota Twins system.
On the scouting scale that goes from 20 to 80, 80 represents a superstar level in how a player is graded in a particular area in regards to projection at the Major League level. An 80 power tool grade is rarely handed out due to what it represents: Someone who could hit 40 home runs regularly at the Major League level. Sano has the power that is rarely seen in someone his age, and there’s a very good chance that it could get even better. He’s not exactly done growing at 6’3″, 195 lbs. (which is listed, but he’s at least two bills at this point) and his swing sees the ball explode off his bat.
He takes big, violent cuts, and that leads to a lot of swing and miss in his game, but take a look at his peripherals: 15 strikeouts in 52 appearances, but he also has 10 walks. There is a lot of fear for this man even at the Low-A level, and he’s got a good enough eye at this point that he will take his big cuts at pitches he can handle. That being said, as he advances, he’s going to have to be a bit more selective, and don’t be surprised if his walk rate goes down a bit as he advances and teams get a better scouting report.
There’s also the problem of the position he’ll play once he reaches the Major Leagues. He came up originally as a shortstop, but he is now at third base, and he’s not exactly a marvel at the hot corner. He does have a very good arm, a 60-65 arm on the scouting scale, which means that he could possibly move to right field at some point. Of course, if that happens, there will be someone who immediately comes to mind in regards to a comparison to Sano considering his skill set: Mike Stanton.
Now, Stanton raced through the minors on his way to becoming one of the most feared young hitters in all of baseball, and Sano might just do the same due to the absolute power outage at the Major League level in Minnesota. But this is still his first full season in professional baseball. He still has a lot of things to learn and chances are he will be quick to the learning curve. He’s also a Top 10 prospect in all of baseball and Twins fans will be happy when he finally gets his chance to shine at Target Field.
