As the 2011 First-Year Player Draft wraps up today, the Twins future appears to be bright. There is one prospect who made his debut last season and could be a future face of the franchise. The great thing is, he wasn't drafted, instead he was discovered not only by the Twins, but other teams as well. The Twins were lucky enough to land Dominican prospect, Miguel Sano.
Sano is an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic and was highly sought after by many teams when he announced his intentions on coming to the Major Leagues. There were rumors of the Twins having some interest, but many people didn’t think the Twins would spend the money to sign an international free agent. Were they ever wrong when October 2009 came, the Twins signed Sano to a 3.15 million dollar signing bonus and the Twins made a big splash.
However, it wasn’t as easy as just signing a dotted line for Sano. As with every international free agent that signs with a Major League team, the commissioners office does a full identity check. There were multiple rumors that Sano was not infact 16 years old as he claimed he was, but after an investigation by Major League Baseball, he was given the okay to sign with the Twins.
After starting out by playing in the Dominican Summer League, Sano eventually made his way stateside and made his debut with the Twins Gulf Coast League and quickly proved why he was worth all the hype. In 41 games he hit .291 with four home runs and 19 runs batted in. Despite being a player who can play any infield position, I expect him to end up at third base or first base. There have been scouts saying that he could even outgrow the third base position and could end up in a corner outfield position or could be the the future cornerstone at first base. He has drawn comparisons to Albert Pujols and Hanley Ramirez when it comes to his physical size.
Even though the Twins would love to have him appear in the Twins Cities sooner rather than later, if I were them, I would move Sano through the system slowly. They can’t afford to rush Sano and blow their chance at having a very special player one day. So if there is a Twins prospect to keep your eye on when it comes to the offensive side of the ball, Miguel Sano could very well be that player. If he has a solid 2011 season in the Gulf Coast League, I could see him starting the 2012 season in Beloit. So hopefully he will appear in the Twin Cities around the 2015 season, but it’s tough to predict when a player will be ready for the majors, especially when a player is as young as Sano is.
It will be very exciting to see him grow into his body and hopefully become the player that everyone predicts and hopes he will become.
No comments:
Post a Comment