Miguel Sano is Off to a Worrisome Start

This again?

Since we now know what Sano is.....

K-Sano Sano will eventually have to go K-sera sera! Whatever will be, will be. I don't understand why people think he is going to change just because it is a new season. He is, what he is and he is not going to miraculously change just because the calendar flipped.

I'd like to see his bat disappear from the lineup and be replaced with someone who can hit more consistantly. At this point, LaTortuga shows more of an ability to produce than K-Sano.

Maybe this is obvious to everyone here, but it seems like Sano and Garver, unlike Donaldson and Cruz, do not have the contact skills to be consistently taking first pitch strikes. If they want to swing for the fences, fine, but hoping that the second strike of every at bat is a meatball is too easy to pitch around.

Yes, when the weather warms, both of them will make more contact with the crap they see with two strikes. But the approach still limits them

People are so damn fickle... Was anyone here paying attention to the team in 2019 when Sano looked lost at the plate throughout his first few weeks and then proceeded to hit the cover off the ball for the rest of the season? I get that strikeouts are not fun to watch, but they're honestly only slightly worse than a normal groundout or pop fly (and they're better than double plays!). While the results haven't been there yet, I still think Sano has been taking some good at-bats so far, and if he continues this approach, he's going to start connecting sooner or later. Any calls to bench him in favor of Astudillo are just plain silly.

Well see where he ends up OPS and OBP % wise. 

He's well over 2K career PAs with a .331 OBP and .824 OPS. What team is turning their nose up at that?

When you've got utility players like Arraez and Astudillo there's no way Sano should be wasting space on this team- especially, when (if) Donaldson returns.

Last season threw a lot of hitters out of whack. Lets see how he is hitting 200 ABs into the season. He just needs consistent ABs and I bet he will be fine. I look forward to seeing a .250/.360/.570 slash line with 40 HErs in 550 ABs.

Brandon is correct - let us all take a look after 200 at bats.

Can we appreciate Sano for what he is? A guy that will have a lot of strikeouts, low average, but a lot of home runs and good OPS. That’s still a solid player. It’s almost like you guys expect him to be a hall of Famer which is unfair expectations. I remember riding back from Beloit when he was down there. I told my buddy that Rosario would be more valuable player if he stuck at 2B. Well he didn’t stick but my initial valuation was a lot closer than anyone expected. He is still a fine player but he is what he is. He will have some hot streaks and we will be glad to have him. If you are expecting Barry Bonds out there, then sorry.

Well...... top prospect in MLB through the minors, has a movie made about him.... hype hype hype. Of course the world then expects him to be a HOFer. And why not? He was entitled as he rose and now it is time to be what he was meant to be. I don't see it as unfair. He got every opportunity, every benefit of the doubt when it came to other distractions, and the money. I don't think it is unfair to expect him to deliver at all.

Well...... top prospect in MLB through the minors, has a movie made about him.... hype hype hype. Of course the world then expects him to be a HOFer. And why not? He was entitled as he rose and now it is time to be what he was meant to be. I don't see it as unfair. He got every opportunity, every benefit of the doubt when it came to other distractions, and the money. I don't think it is unfair to expect him to deliver at all.

If your baseline is that a top prospect should equal HOF then you have a long life of disappointment ahead of you. I’ve watched the kid in the minors and he’s not too far off from what I thought. Granted I thought he’d be a .240-.250 hitter so that’s disappointing but 30-40 homers is about right.

Is 5 years of NOT living up to the hype long enough to begin the doubt process? I think so.

If your baseline is that a top prospect should equal HOF then you have a long life of disappointment ahead of you. I’ve watched the kid in the minors and he’s not too far off from what I thought. Granted I thought he’d be a .240-.250 hitter so that’s disappointing but 30-40 homers is about right.

Not my baseline. But it seems your projection. Just part of the Sano story. I don't mind disapointment, and I don't deny it, either. Makes the highs higher. When you are a great player by failing 70% of the time.... to be a baseball fan, you have to embrace a long life of disappointment.

He always starts slow. 

yes that is true but he's starting REALLY slow this season.

When Sano heats up, the ball will be scared to cross the plate. We are winning without his bat now, we will be crushing the Yankees when Sano rakes in October. Have some patience twins fans!!!

".... He was entitled as he rose ... "

Wow! not a personal attack but that is rather egregious. Miguel Sano signed a rich contract that took him from abject poverty to wealth when he was 16. Entitled is not the case, not close. The maneuvers made on him and his family by professionals and the blatant racism he faced as a young kid under the eye of MLB was atrocious. Sano had to prove his age by agreeing to various tests that proved his age. It is amazing he managed himself through those experiences and years in my thinking. 

Certainly, I hoped Sano could hit .275 - .300 with 30-40 homeruns and a .900 OPS and so on, but he is still at least average. I loved K. Vargas and his style but there is a demonstrable difference between them as others have pointed out quite effectively. 

Lastly, I mentioned last year in a comment that Miguel Sano is one of the only hitters in baseball that strikes fear as he stands in the batter's box. As a former pitcher myself, Sano is the only Twin I would say that about. Sometimes I think umpires feel the same way because in a very non-scientific judgment I cannot ever recall seeing a hitter have more balls called strikes against him than we see when Sano is at the plate.

Miguel has quite a way to go before he regains the fans and his long streaks of flailing are difficult for even the most faithful Twins fanatic. Still, we can relax and wait out his early season issues. Can't we?

".... He was entitled as he rose ... "

 

Wow! not a personal attack but that is rather egregious. Miguel Sano signed a rich contract that took him from abject poverty to wealth when he was 16. Entitled is not the case, not close. The maneuvers made on him and his family by professionals and the blatant racism he faced as a young kid under the eye of MLB was atrocious. Sano had to prove his age by agreeing to various tests that proved his age. It is amazing he managed himself through those experiences and years in my thinking.

 

Certainly, I hoped Sano could hit .275 - .300 with 30-40 homeruns and a .900 OPS and so on, but he is still at least average. I loved K. Vargas and his style but there is a demonstrable difference between them as others have pointed out quite effectively.

 

Lastly, I mentioned last year in a comment that Miguel Sano is one of the only hitters in baseball that strikes fear as he stands in the batter's box. As a former pitcher myself, Sano is the only Twin I would say that about. Sometimes I think umpires feel the same way because in a very non-scientific judgment I cannot ever recall seeing a hitter have more balls called strikes against him than we see when Sano is at the plate.

 

Miguel has quite a way to go before he regains the fans and his long streaks of flailing are difficult for even the most faithful Twins fanatic. Still, we can relax and wait out his early season issues. Can't we?

Thank you!!!

Is 5 years of NOT living up to the hype long enough to begin the doubt process? I think so.

He actually has been at the MLB level for 6 years. I am not a real big Sano fan but I don't think you are being fair. He was very good 3 of those 6 years with a wRC+ of 125 / 137 / 149. To put this in perspective, Rosarios best year was a wRC+ of 118. Sano is definitely not consistent but he has the ability to be a real force. I would love to see him put it together in the next month. Garver looks much more like 2019 Garver and Buxton looks like an absolute BEAST!