Article: Hot Bat Earns Miguel Sano Twins' Player Of The Week Honors

[Parker Hageman]

Over the past week Twins prospect Miguel Sano has laid waste to his Southern League competition, going 11-for-29 (.379) with four doubles, a pair of home runs and 8 RBIs with a .438 on-base percentage to boot. Because of his performance, the Twins anointed him their Minor League Player of the Week.

 

The Twins general manager had made a trip through Chattanooga to evaluate the club recently and when asked about his thoughts on where Sano is at in his development stage, Ryan gave his usual straightforward remarks.“He’s doing better,” Ryan said. “As you see, the progression is going in this direction and that’s good. He’s got work to do as does every guy down there at the Double-A level. But they’ve got a good club. There are guys that carried that team when Sano and Buxton were struggling. Neither one of them are struggling anymore.”

 

Sano is certainly doing better. In the season’s first month he tagged four home runs but compiled a line of .159/.303/.381 while racking up strikeouts at a near 30% clip. When the calendar flipped to May, he turned it on. His line drive rate went from non-existent to lasers around the ballpark, helping him achieve a .321/.406/.625 line over his last 16 games.

 

That is the progression the Twins are happy to see from Sano. Far too often, Sano’s swing results in towering flies to the middle of the park. Some of those flies turn into no-doubters but a high portion of them turn into long fly outs when hit to the middle of the park. Mixing in the screaming liners would ensure he reached safely on a few more of those plate appearances.

 

http://i.imgur.com/7Tcw94c.gif

 

There’s no doubt that Sano has the type of power that makes a pitcher hang his head and, for now, Sano’s bat is the focus but the underlying concern is whether his defense will be major league caliber. The on-going narrative for Sano is that the big man with the big swing will eventually be moved out of that position. Now with nine errors in 32 games, Ryan was asked if his defense was a concern for the organization to which he shrugged off.

 

“No. Never has been a concern for me. I’ve never had a concern over his fielding, still don’t.”

 

http://i.imgur.com/ypMNDFr.gif

 

“Everybody makes errors in the minor league,” Ryan reminded the reporters.

 

While errors are an antiquated measuring stick for defense, a high total still raises the question regarding a player’s skill set. Is his glove work in need of improvement? Is his throwing hindered by the recent Tommy John surgery? Is it decision-making?

 

“They are both fine,” Ryan offered about Sano’s arm and hands. “He’s a kid who makes some unforced errors. Some of them he makes phenomenal plays but the next one is routine and he’ll botch it. Like a lot of youthful mistakes. All he needs is time. There’s nothing wrong with him.”

 

Fielding aside, if Sano continues to swing the bat the way he currently is, he will likely find himself in a major league lineup in no time.

 

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[tobi0040]

Interesting about his defense.  I wonder if rust is a factor there too.  I remember in 2013 he made a lot of errors in the first half of the year and turned it around in the second. 

 

If he doesn't cut down on the errors, I have a hard time seeing him stick at 3B.

[Parker Hageman]

If he doesn't cut down on the errors, I have a hard time seeing him stick at 3B.

 

 

Trevor Plouffe made plenty of errors in his first season at third. Above that, he also had to work on his first step. Developed into a very decent third basemen. Sano could wind up doing the same. 

 

[tobi0040]

 

Trevor Plouffe made plenty of errors in his first season at third. Above that, he also had to work on his first step. Developed into a very decent third basemen. Sano could wind up doing the same. 

 

I am guessing you mean 2012?  He played in 95 games and made 17 errors.  One every 5.5 games.  Sano has 10 in 33 games, one every 3.3 games.

 

I think he could do it and I am not writing him off here. Just noting that he needs a dramatic improvement upon this rate.

[Parker Hageman]

Point with Plouffe is that the Twins do have patience for players to work through some shaky play. Look at Danny Santana right now as well. Sano's got a high error rate but it doesn't have to be a position-killer.

 

Corey Koskie - Age-22 season (A): 36 errors in 109 games

Miguel Sano - Age-20 season (A+-AA): 23 errors in 120 games

 

Again, errors are dumb in defensive evaluation. As the clip shows above, Sano has decent athleticism. Hopefully he can improve the decision-making/concentration in order to keep from making the routine errors.

[nicksaviking]

Ryan is a pretty straight forward guy.  Has anyone actually asked him if there is a plan for keeping both Plouffe and Sano on the same team?  He may give a vauge answer like, "Things will work themselves out." but sometimes the context can help us fans infer if there has been legit discussion and action taken or if they're just going to wing it.

[TheDean]

I know that he was likely committed to his rehab, and position players don't have nearly the recovery time that pitchers do, but I have to assume that he'll continue to get better as he A: shakes off the rust offensively and defensively and B: continues to strengthen and grow accustomed to his repaired elbow. He was out of baseball for a long time.

[tobi0040]

 

Point with Plouffe is that the Twins do have patience for players to work through some shaky play. Look at Danny Santana right now as well. Sano's got a high error rate but it doesn't have to be a position-killer.

 

Corey Koskie - Age-22 season (A): 36 errors in 109 games

Miguel Sano - Age-20 season (A+-AA): 23 errors in 120 games

 

Again, errors are dumb in defensive evaluation. As the clip shows above, Sano has decent athleticism. Hopefully he can improve the decision-making/concentration in order to keep from making the routine errors.

 

Just curious, what defensive metrics exist for minor league players?  Outside of errors.  Didn't think much existed...

[Parker Hageman]

Just curious, what defensive metrics exist for minor league players?Outside of errors.Didn't think much existed...

 

 

Nothing for public consumption. Some teams will either gather their own data or outsource to an Inside Edge-type company to gather info. Aside for that, some organizations like the Twins have added Trackman systems in their minor league ballparks and could use some of that data for evaluation. 

 

Beyond that, it is just the good old fashioned eye test.

[Ex-Iowegian]

Three and four years ago in ST, I got the chance to watch TK work with Sano on one of the smaller infield skins. Interesting couple of sessions a year apart. Both in how Kelly works, and how little progress Sano had made over they year in between. (He got hurt after that.)

By my eyeball test, Sano may never be 'average major league caliber' defensively. I'm not piling on here, but there has hardly been any discussion on why folks think he could be called up to play 3rd. That would be a grave mistake at this point. He's young, and it could work out someday, But not in the very near future, imo.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Ryan is a pretty straight forward guy.  Has anyone actually asked him if there is a plan for keeping both Plouffe and Sano on the same team?  He may give a vauge answer like, "Things will work themselves out." but sometimes the context can help us fans infer if there has been legit discussion and action taken or if they're just going to wing it.

I doubt the Twins even know how this will play out. The thing that would bother me the most is if Sano continues to rake but is held back in the minors anyway.

[Seth Stohs]

No doubt in my mind that Sano CAN be an MLB third baseman. As Parker wote above, it's more about concentration because he is a good athlete, and he has decent range, and he has a very powerful arm.

 

Will he play there? I don't know. That might be dependent upon other things, such as how good Plouffe has become and will be. 

 

I have little doubt that Sano will become a very good MLB power hitter.

[Parker Hageman]

By my eyeball test, Sano may never be 'average major league caliber' defensively. I'm not piling on here, but there has hardly been any discussion on why folks think he could be called up to play 3rd. That would be a grave mistake at this point. He's young, and it could work out someday, But not in the very near future, imo.

 

 

Grave mistake sounds too harsh. Like Ryan said, he needs work. I don't think there is any hurry to get him up at this point. As Seth mentioned, Plouffe is doing just fine at the position as is.

 

[nicksaviking]

 

By my eyeball test, Sano may never be 'average major league caliber' defensively. I'm not piling on here, but there has hardly been any discussion on why folks think he could be called up to play 3rd. That would be a grave mistake at this point. He's young, and it could work out someday, But not in the very near future, imo.

 

I think the grave mistake would be not letting him play 3B at the MLB level.  This doesn't feel like a situation where he could DH for three years while plouffe plays 3B than go right back to the hot corner and pick it back up. 

 

I'm certainly willing to sacrafice some defense in the short term in an attempt to reach the optimal outcome in the long term.

Edited May 18, 2015 by nicksaviking

[troyhobbs]

Is Plouffe's D really that exceptional? Sure he makes the routine plays but I don't see him make a lot of phenomenal plays. His DWAR for 2015 is 0.1 which is good for 36th in the league. Sano has all the making to be a Twins (perhaps MLB) legend, Plouffe is at the top of his game and there's only one way to go from there. If the Twins can get a decent ROI upon moving him they'll be plenty good with Sano at 3B.

 

Edit: 12th in DWAR among qualified 3B (I suppose that's important). Point is, he's good but not that good, and probably won't be good for a whole lot longer.

[Sam Morley]

 

No doubt in my mind that Sano CAN be an MLB third baseman. As Parker wote above, it's more about concentration because he is a good athlete, and he has decent range, and he has a very powerful arm.

 

Will he play there? I don't know. That might be dependent upon other things, such as how good Plouffe has become and will be. 

 

I have little doubt that Sano will become a very good MLB power hitter.

When you see the clip that Parker included, how can anyone even dispute his defensive chops? For a third baseman, he's really the total package. I am in agreement with others, including Terry Ryan, that the errors are not even a concern at this point. It is interesting to ponder though. Why do we make mistakes? Seth, you attribute it here to occasional lapses in concentration. I suppose that's certainly possible. But consider this: a hundred thousand times you stop at a red light, but one time you blow through it. Were you concentrating in that moment, no; but were you really concentrating any more during the hundred thousand other times? I am a carpenter, and say I make a hundred thousand accurate measurements in month, but once in a while I inch trick a measurement- I don't think I am concentrating any less in the instance that I make the mistake. Further, it's the kind of mistake I made much more frequently when I was less experienced- even though I was probably concentrating harder on that type of task than I do now. My point here isn't necessarily to say that Sano's proclivity for defensive mistakes are not due a lack of concentration (who can know what's another's mind at any given time?). My point is to suggest that it is rather (or additionally) lack of experience. Maybe even as simple as muscle memory. Even on plays that appear routine, there must be infinite possibility for subtle differences. It would take countless in-game repetition to become automatic. Sano has only been playing third for a couple of seasons, and the difference between third and short is significant. I will say, as a middle infielder, I wanted nothing to do with third base. It's weird over there. Seth, as you say he is an athlete, he has the hands, he has the arm. He's going to be a third baseman. In my opinion, his bat is ready now. I don't think that what happens with Sano is dependent at all on Trevor Plouffe. Plouffe will be, what, 29 this summer? He's playing really well, as he should, being in his prime. Do we have reason to project continued improvement and increased production from him? Perhaps? I don't know, but it seems to me most players begin trending downward once they reach their thirties. A down-trending Joe Mauer is palatable, and certainly Torii Hunter seems to have bucked the trend altogether, but a down-trending Trevor Plouffe with a lurking Miguel Angel... no way. 

[kab21]

 

Trevor Plouffe made plenty of errors in his first season at third. Above that, he also had to work on his first step. Developed into a very decent third basemen. Sano could wind up doing the same. 

I see the Twins Miguel being several seasons ahead of the Marlins/Tigers Miguel in the 'we can't have this guy at 3B' talk.  MCab only played 2 full seasons at 3B (30+ games 2 other seasons) for the Marlins at age 23/24.  It seemed like more but Lowell was the 3Bman for the 1st 2.5 seasons and in some ways is the Twins' Plouffe. 

 

The Tigers only played Cabrera at 3B because they went all in on offense with VMart and Prince with zero other options at 3B.  It's not a move that they wanted to make but roster construction necessitated it.

[jokin]

 

I am guessing you mean 2012?  He played in 95 games and made 17 errors.  One every 5.5 games.  Sano has 10 in 33 games, one every 3.3 games.

 

I think he could do it and I am not writing him off here. Just noting that he needs a dramatic improvement upon this rate.

 

He's coming off of a lost year, and hadn't played in over a year and half.  Revisit the error issue in September, my guess is he will have improved dramatically on that still-rather-insignificant statistic.

[David HK]

I may be in the minority here, but Mr. Plouffe has never impressed me as an outstanding 3B.  I know his metrics have improved markedly, but going from absolute suck to competent is kind of a low bar, donchya think?  I've not the time nor inclination to analyze a ton of intense stats, but eyeball wise, I still see his positioning and first step, although greatly improved, as less than stellar.  Granted, he's made plenty of highlight reel plays, but some of those I've seen needn't have been highlight-reel quality with better positioning.  

As for Mr. Sano, well, I'm old enough to remember a certain Idahoan holding down 3B in the late 60's-early 70's.  And even as a little kid playing Pee Wee ball,  I understood you sacrifice some defense for a load of offense at that position.  I don't know what the fuss is about having Sano become an elite-level fielder as well as hoping for 40 HRs out of him annually.  If he can play an adequate 3B, (as Mr. P is doing now), and slug the ball around, I'll live without a few Gold Gloves over there.

As the old-timers used to say -oops, guess I am one, now-- the biggest thing you need to have at 3rd is a "strong chest." Yep.  He's got that.

[Ncgo4]

These awards are the kiss of death. Button is lauded for his bat finally coming alive and he immediately goes back into the toilet. Sano wins player of the month and he immediately goes 0-8 with 6 k's. Apparently talking about minor league hitter's streaks is tantamount to talking about a pitcher's in-progress no hitter.

[kab21]

 

I may be in the minority here, but Mr. Plouffe has never impressed me as an outstanding 3B.  I know his metrics have improved markedly, but going from absolute suck to competent is kind of a low bar, donchya think?  I've not the time nor inclination to analyze a ton of intense stats, but eyeball wise, I still see his positioning and first step, although greatly improved, as less than stellar.  Granted, he's made plenty of highlight reel plays, but some of those I've seen needn't have been highlight-reel quality with better positioning.  

As for Mr. Sano, well, I'm old enough to remember a certain Idahoan holding down 3B in the late 60's-early 70's.  And even as a little kid playing Pee Wee ball,  I understood you sacrifice some defense for a load of offense at that position.  I don't know what the fuss is about having Sano become an elite-level fielder as well as hoping for 40 HRs out of him annually.  If he can play an adequate 3B, (as Mr. P is doing now), and slug the ball around, I'll live without a few Gold Gloves over there.

As the old-timers used to say -oops, guess I am one, now-- the biggest thing you need to have at 3rd is a "strong chest." Yep.  He's got that.

 

Strawman arguments.  Nobody and I mean nobody says Sano needs to become an elite level fielder.  I think he is several years away from the possibility (not certainty) of playing defense anywhere near Plouffe.

 

In some ways it compares to Harper and Myers.  Both were catchers and would have had to stay in the minors at least another 2 years (guess) for their defense to be acceptable but probably still poor.  Instead they moved positions and were fasttracked.  Sano's bat should be ready sometime between 9/2015 and 6/2016.  I'm not willing to wait an additional 2 years (guess) for adequate but below average defense or put up with one of the worst fielders in the majors for a couple of years.