Miguel Sano with Sights Set on Hall of Fame Records

[Ted Schwerzler]

After posting a .923 OPS in 2019 and parlaying that into a nice contract extension it’s hard to fathom what more could be done by Miguel Sano. The reality is that we may have just been scratching the surface, and a 2020 encore could provide numbers we haven’t seen in over 50 years.The Minnesota Twins are celebrating their 60th season and bringing back the powder blues in 2020. A slugger that wore those uniforms prior to them becoming throwbacks was none other than Harmon Killerbrew. Known as Killer, Harmon clubbed a ridiculous 573 career homers. Twice, in 1964 and 1969, he blasted 49 in a single season. As a no-doubt Hall of Famer it’s hard to fathom Sano reaching that rarified air, but matching him for a calendar year? Yeah, I can get behind that.

 

During the 2019 season Sano played in just 105 games. He missed the beginning of the year after suffering a gash on his heel in a freak accident. After debuting in mid-May, the Dominican native posted an .853 OPS through his first 23 games. There were seven longballs hit in that stretch, but it was bookended by an ugly five-strikeout affair in a 0-for-7 performance against the Boston Red Sox.

 

Working with the since departed James Rowson on a teardown and rebuild of his swing while facing Major League pitching, Miguel performed admirably. Given the determination he’d shown throughout the offseason, it shouldn’t be a surprise he’d work tirelessly to get this right. Over his final 82 games he tallied a .944 OPS and 27 homers. From July on that OPS was at .955, and in September alone it was a whopping 1.067.

 

Owning a top five barrel rate and one of the best hard-hit rates in all of baseball, it’s not a surprise to see the pill leave the yard when Miguel makes contact. He’ll obviously whiff plenty, but even a 36% strikeout rate couldn’t keep him down a year ago. The mix tells us everything we need to know. This is a three true outcomes guy that recorded an insane 36% HR/FB rate. Now what happens if he’s on the field more?

 

Moving over to first base could present some challenges for Miguel, and he’ll definitely need to grow into the new position. If he can continue to separate his play on the field from that in the batter’s box, the rigors of the role should put less of a strain on him, however. Also, barring some unfortunate development, he’ll be entering the year with a clean bill of health.

 

Extrapolating Sano’s numbers over the course of a full season surpasses the 50-home run plateau. It’s something that Killebrew never did and reaching 43 would put him beyond Nelson Cruz’s number last year (41) as well as Brian Dozier’s in 2016 (42). For a guy that was sent down to Single-A less than two years ago to now be capable of the heights Miguel is achieving is nothing short of extraordinary. He’s put in the work, he’s committed to be the best version of himself, and in 2020 it could culminate into some chart-topping tallies.

 

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[goulik]

Bringer of Rain? Let it Sanó!!

[Richard Swerdlick]

I expect Miguel to eventually be an above average first baseman. Otherwise he will be the DH when Nelson Cruz moves on.

[John Bonnes]

New contract. New position. Another year of real-conditioning. Cruz around for another year to help him through the rough spots..... 

 

Gawd but I hope the second-half or 2019 is a preview of the next four years. He was so disciplined at the plate. This could be very exciting. (Or incredibly disappointing.)

[Doctor Gast]

In my heart I believe Sano is on the right track! Cruz should be proud of what Sano is showing, the new mind set & everything. W/ the new mind set & if he could shorten that swing when he`s in a hole plus the new relationship w/ hitting guru Donaldson; there`s no limit what he can do!

[Shaitan]

 

New contract. New position. Another year of real-conditioning. Cruz around for another year to help him through the rough spots..... 

 

Gawd but I hope the second-half or 2019 is a preview of the next four years. He was so disciplined at the plate. This could be very exciting. (Or incredibly disappointing.)

Exactly. I wonder if he's just going to be streaky, which is weird when it comes to patience.

 

It was great his rookie year and parts of last year. The playoffs...not so much.

[mikelink45]

I don't know, but I love the idea.  Has he been working out this winter?  How is his weight?  More than what he did last year, I think the off season is the key to his success 

[jkcarew]

Like others, I love the idea of Sano glued to the seat/spot next to Cruz...in the batting cage, dugout, clubhouse, plane. Please, Miggy...continue to be asking Nelson ton's of questions and watching every aspect of every single one of his at-bats.

[Ebby Calvin Laloosh]

I think I remember reading last year that Cruz would ask Sano two questions after each at bat. What was your plan and how much fun was it? Having a plan is key and I believe Cruz really impacted Sano's approach. Not so much with specific mechanics or even what the plan is (although I suspect he helped with the planning as well) but just going up there as a professional hitter, with a well thought out plan. The second part is important as well. Keep it light and loose. We all know Sano likes to hit and when he gets a hold of one it sure looks like fun to me.

[Riverbrian]

If he continues with the plate discipline improvement or dare I suggest... even improves his plate discipline more. 

 

And with good health of course.

 

I will take the over.

 

He will club over 50. 

[yeahyabetcha]

I wonder what kind of year it could be if Sano, Buxton and Berrios could all stay mostly healthy and play near the top of their potential?

[Doctor Gast]

The power blues came in at the end of Carew`s Twins career & died when they they won the big one. They came in during the twinkies era not the Twins glory years