Archive for miguel sano

Miguel Sano is off to quite the start to his big-league career. The hulking 22-year-old is hitting .385/.500/.577 through his first eight games with Minnesota, and has reached base in all but one of those contests. His 205 wRC+ is the 11th highest in baseball in the month of July, and he’s provided a significant boost to the middle of the Twins lineup.

Sano’s major-league career may be only a week old, but he’s been in the limelight for years now. He was seen as a generational talent when the Twins signed him as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican back in 2009. And the controversy surrounding his signing inspired Peletero — one of baseball’s best and most well-known documentaries.

Once his signing was finally completed and documented, Sano proceeded to punish minor-league pitching. Between 2010 and 2013, he mashed .279/.372/.567 as an infielder, with most of his reps coming at third base. Sano had some trouble making contact, as evidenced by his 26% strikeout rate, but he more than made up for it with his mammoth power. On the strength of his 80-grade raw power, his isolated-power figures (ISOs) were consistently near or above .300, which frankly doesn’t happen all that often. All in all, Sano was always among the very best hitters in his league, despite being much younger than his competition.

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In Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano the Minnesota Twins have two of the very best prospects in baseball. It’s probably no surprise that they then also arguably have the best prospect in the game at two different positions. Buxton is the best prospect in the game – full stop. So he’s obviously the best outfield prospect in the game. For my money, there’s no better third baseman than Sano in the minors either. This got me curious about how often this sort of thing happens, and more importantly how often this situation leads to success.

Fans often have this ideal in their mind of a group of talented young prospects coming along, developing into homegrown stars and leading their team to glory. It’s a common theme to pretty much every sport. People all over the World share this sentiment. In soccer, when supporters see a strong group of youth players coming through the junior national ranks they often term that group a “Golden Generation.” That’s where the name of this article comes from. There’s more than one way to build a champion of course, but the path of homegrown stars rising to glory is probably the most satisfying from a fan (and baseball ops!) point of view. After all, drafting, signing and developing amateur talent is to many people the “right way” to run a baseball team. It’s certainly not the only way. Teams have succeeded through free agency and trades as well. Yet, the most popular players in baseball ever seem to be the homegrown heroes. I wanted to see just generally how often this scenario plays out successfully in recent history. How often does a golden generation of prospects develop and lead a team to a title – or at least some success?

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The Minnesota Twins’ Double-A affiliate in New Britain, CT features a plethora of top prospects, including three of the best hitting prospects in the system. They were on full display during a late July series against the Philadelphia Phillies’ Double-A affiliate in Reading, PA.

Eddie Rosario, 2B

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Minnesota has turned its minor league system around is short order, thanks to strong drafts, outstanding scouting in the international markets and some trades. The organization now has one of the deepest systems in the game, as well as an enviable collection of power arms and exciting athletes.

#1 Byron Buxton (OF)

Buxton, the second overall selection in the 2012 draft, flashed his five-tool potential during his pro debut. An ultra-athletic player, he currently possesses plus speed with gap power but, according to a contact I spoke with, he should add more home runs as he matures as a hitter thanks, in part, to his incredible bat speed.  

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If you hadn’t guessed from my first piece on Midwest League prospects, the league is simply loaded with talent. Taking that statement one step further, few would argue it was the best prospect league in all of minor league baseball at present. In this installment, seven more prospects ranging from the relative unknowns to household names (if there is such a thing when it comes to prospects).

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Manny Banuelos, LHP, New York Yankees
Current Level: AAA
2012 Top 15 Prospects Ranking: 1st
Current Value: Monitor Closely

Banuelos, 21, returned from a brief stint on the disabled list with an impressive performance that saw him strike out five batters in 3.0 innings of work. He gave up two hits but did not allow a walk or a run. He followed that up last night with another five innings of one run ball. It was a far cry from his first two starts of the 2012 season when he allowed 14 hits, seven walks and six runs in 5.1 combined innings. With the starting rotation in a state of flux in New York, the triple-A prospect could be a sight for sore eyes come mid season. Banuelos’ control still needs a fair bit of fine tuning but he has the ceiling of a No. 2 starter with a little more polish.

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