USA TODAY International Edition
SANO SHOWS OFF MAJOR MATURITY
Prized rookie draws raves for patient, confident approach
Torii Hunter played two years with the Detroit Tigers alongside Miguel Cabrera and grew to admire not just the hitting skills of the two- time MVP but also his grit and fortitude in playing through major groin and ankle injuries.
So it bears noting when Hunter, a veteran of 17 full seasons, throws the name of teammate and Minnesota Twins rookie Miguel Sano in the same sentence with that of Cabrera, even with the requisite disclaimers.
“I like what he’s going to bring now, and I really like what he’s going to bring in the future,” Hunter said of Sano, called up from Class AA Chattanooga ( Tenn.) on July 2. “He reminds me a little of Miguel Cabrera, but he’s got a long way to go to get there. He could be that guy. His plate discipline is unbelievable.”
Loquacious Hunter wasn’t so much comparing Sano, 22, to perhaps the best hitter of his generation — Cabrera is a three- time batting champion and near- certain future Hall of Famer — as he was highlighting the similarity in their mentality and talent at a young age.
There also are physical similarities, with both being big guys — listed as 6- 4 — who began their pro careers as shortstops before outgrowing the position and encountering weight issues.
And while Cabrera’s knack for driving the ball to the opposite field might be unparalleled among present- day sluggers, Sano has demonstrated an approach wise beyond his years in his brief time in the majors.
Before suffering an ankle injury that is expected to keep him sidelined for a few days, Sano batted .326 with two homers, nine RBI and a .992 on- base- plus- slugging percentage in 13 games. Perhaps more impressive, he had nine walks and had swung at only 28% of pitches outside the strike zone, a statistic that would rank in the top 30 in the American League if he had enough at- bats to qualify. Sano also has struck out 19 times in 53 plate appearances, but his 12% walk rate
“He could be that guy. His plate discipline’s unbelievable.” Twins’ Torii Hunter, on Miguel Sano, who reminds him of Miguel Cabrera
through his minor league career suggests he has an idea of what he’s doing in the batter’s box.
“I like looking at a lot of pitches,” Sano told USA TODAY Sports in a far- ranging interview in Spanish. “I don’t like to swing in 0- 0 counts. I don’t feel confident. I prefer to hit with a strike on. I always like getting to a full count.”
That mature approach should benefit a Twins club that has stubbornly held on to second place in the AL Central and remains eight games above .500 after losing at least 92 games in each of the last four seasons.
Minnesota starters have trimmed more than a run from last year’s major league- worst 5.06 ERA. Their improvement, combined with the arrival of Hunter and new manager Paul Molitor and the emergence of All- Star second baseman Brian Dozier, have propelled the club to unexpected playoff contention.
But the continued struggles of designated hitter Kennys Vargas, since demoted to the minors, left a hole in the middle of a lineup that has produced the fourthfewest home runs in the AL. The Twins think Sano, who hit 35 homers in the minors two years ago and had 15 before getting called up, can supply some of the missing thump.
After batting fifth or sixth in his first five games as the designated hitter, Sano ( prounounced sa- NO) was moved to the cleanup spot and has remained there. Minnesota averaged 3.67 runs a game in June and has boosted that output to 4.69 with Sano in the lineup.
“I wanted to get him acclimated up here,” Molitor said of slotting Sano at No. 4, “but when his at- bats started showing up at the level of quality they did earlier, it became easier to take a chance and put him in there. Makeup-wise and ability- wise, he’s been able to handle it so far.”
The task has proved less daunting than sitting out a season, which Sano was forced to do in 2014 while he recovered from Tommy John surgery in his right elbow.
Coming off his big 2013 season at Class A and AA, Sano was play- ing winter ball in his native Dominican Republic when he dived for a ball at third and slipped as he planted his feet on wet ground. Sano tried to throw from an awkward position and heard a pop in the elbow, which soon swelled up. He was diagnosed with a strained ulnar collateral ligament.
When rest and rehab did not fix the injury, Sano overcame his aversion to surgery — at his mother’s insistence — and had the procedure in March 2014, sidelining him for the season when he expected to make his major league debut. The time apart from baseball was torture.
“Ten days away is like a year for me,” he said. “Imagine a whole year. It’s an eternity.”
And it was too much time without enough to do. Sano said he learned to enjoy fishing with friends while he rehabbed in Fort Myers, Fla., where the Twins have their spring training site, but the inactivity and overeating led him to gain weight, and he showed up to spring training at 260 pounds.
Sano is down to 240 — or so he says, though teammate and countryman Ervin Santana is playfully skeptical — and intends to play next season closer to 230.
Whatever the figure, Sano is regarded as one of baseball’s top power- hitting prospects, the jewel of Minnesota’s farm system with outfielder Byron Buxton.
In 2009, the Twins were the surprise winners of a bidding war for Sano’s services chronicled in the documentary Ballplayer: Pe
lotero. They signed him for a $ 3.15 million bonus, a franchise record for an international player.
He soon proved his confidence was as big as his talent.
“I told ( Joe) Mauer when I signed in 2009, ‘ You see me here now, but someday I’m going to hit between you and Justin Morneau,’ ” engaging Sano said. “Morneau is no longer here, but Mauer is and I’m between him and ( Trevor) Plouffe.”
Mauer, in his 12th season in the majors, looks on in amazement at the level of hype and expectations surrounding top prospects these days compared to when he was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2001 draft.
Mauer wishes young players were allowed to learn and develop without so much pressure, but he expresses admiration for how Buxton — called up June 14 but now on the disabled list — and Sano have handled it.
“Not a whole lot of guys come in and hit fourth,” Mauer said regarding Sano.
“To insert a guy in the middle of the order on a team that’s already playing pretty well, that says a lot about what he’s capable of doing.”