At first glance, you might think the idea of calling up Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano to the major league club would be ridiculous. They are respectively the 1st and 2nd ranked prospects in a highly regarded Twins farm system, they are 21.5 and 22 years old, and a .279 and .254 batting average at AA doesn't scream "Ready for the Majors." But as is often the case, first impressions aren't all that telling. In fact, by the end of this piece, I think many of you will agree that both players are ready for a call to the majors.

Rewind to April 23rd. The Chattanooga Lookouts had just lost to fall to a record of 6-7 with a roster that was believed to be one of the best in all the minors, a roster that included the aforementioned Buxton and Sano. But Byron had just been benched (for what would amount to two games) after starting the season hitting .180/.241/.300 with 14Ks/4BBs in 54 plate appearances. Miguel was in the lineup that day, but was struggling just as much, hitting .163/.333/.326 with 15Ks/10BBs in 54 PAs. The two were rusty, but then again, it was expected for two prospects who missed the bulk, if not all, of the 2014 season.

The rust came off quite suddenly for Byron. He returned to the line up on the 25th and went 2 for 5 with a home run. Since his benching, Byron has hit .306/.373/.541 with 6 2B, 11 3B, and 5 HR. His K% dropped from 25.9% down to 19.3% and his BB% has gone from 7.4% to 9.5% (17.7% and 10.0% over that stretch respectively). He has stolen 18 bases and only been caught once.

It took a little longer for Miguel, though. He struggled up through May 6th, hitting .163/.299/.388. The power was there (.225 ISO) and he was still drawing lots of walks (15.5% BB%), but the average was still lagging in large part due to a K% of 28.9%. Since then, Sano has hit .321/.397/.578 with 6 HR, 8 2B, and 1 3B while cutting his Ks down to 27 in 126 PAs (21.4% K%).

Of course, small sample size is something with which to be concerned, but are these performances out of character for these two? Buxton was considered a fast track candidate before multiple injuries in 2014. Is it so odd to believe that he could still be viewed as such? The biggest surprise might be the home run power Buxton is exhibiting, but even if that doesn't translate, he will still be a weapon defensively and on the basepaths.

As for Sano, let me offer you this. After hitting over .300 at A+, a mid-season promotion to AA saw continued power numbers, but a steep decline in average. Then, over his next 30+ games, he hit over .300 while maintaining his power before being called up to the majors. But you might be saying to yourself, "Miguel Sano hasn't been called to the majors yet....what is this writer thinking?" That's because I wasn't describing Miguel Sano; I was describing the path Joey Gallo took to the majors. I'll put their numbers side by side to illustrate my point:

http://i.imgur.com/WCYUYwX.jpg

I included a tab for Sano's last 29 games because I think including the start of the year when he's knocking off some rust is a little unfair. Look pretty similar though, don't they? Joey Gallo's 8 game debut thus far? 35 PAs, 3BBs, 15Ks, 2 HRs, .313/.371/.531.

So you're the Twins front office, and the shine has begun to wear off the major league club. A team that was putting up runs in bunches earlier in the season has scored 25 runs in their last 10 games en route to a 3-7 record. Rumors have begun to spring up that they could be looking for a power bat, perhaps even one that plays the outfield. But what if those improvements came from within the organization? How could you fit both Buxton and Sano into the lineup on an everyday basis?

If you agree that both prospects have exhibited enough to warrant promotions to the big club, the question becomes, how do they get everyday at bats? You aren't going to call these players up to be bench guys. To make room on the active roster, the first obvious move is to DFA Deunsing. He has struggled, and Tyler Jay has the potential to step in as a lefty specialist in the short term. The second move is a little less clear, but I think there are two options.

Option 1: DFA Nunez.

Option 2: Option Hicks or Rosario to AAA.

DFAing Nunez seems to make more sense if we are prioritizing player potential, but optioning Hicks or Rosario opens up a spot in the outfield for Buxton every day. However, you could start a three-man rotation between Hicks/Hunter/Rosario between the two corner spots and plug Buxton into CF every day. It is more difficult to find everyday at bats for Sano. Even amidst a struggle, Trevor Plouffe is not going to be moving out of the lineup, and the same thing can be said for Mauer. With Vargas recently being called up, don't look for him to be sitting out too many games, either. That leaves Sano and Plouffe as options at third base, Plouffe, Mauer and Vargas as options at 1st base, and all 4 as options as DH. It could work, but it would most likely result in a few less at bats, all around.

Put all of this together, and the conclusion is clear: If you believed Buxton was on a fast track in 2013, why wouldn't he still be considered on a fast track? As for Sano, a recent comparison to one Mr. Gallo leads me to believe he can be successful in his jump from AA to the majors. Whether the team can find the at bats seems to be the last looming question.