It's pretty easy to say that no Dominican prospect (or any international prospect for that matter) has ever been under more scrutiny than Miguel Sano was last summer. At just 16-years-old, Sano's enormous talent caught the eye of nearly every Major League baseball team, as did his physical stature. Standing 6-foot-3 and 190 lbs., Major League Baseball decided to investigate Sano's age to make sure he wasn't trying to appear younger than he truly was. Sano's mother, Melania Jean Sano, lost a son at birth several years after Miguel was born, which made the investigation even more extensive.
After months of trial and tribulation, the Twins signed Sano to a $3.15 million signing bonus on September 29. But the strangest part of all of this? The Twins played a leading role in Sano potentially losing out on millions of dollars. The organization is lucky that Sano didn't have a sour taste in his mouth about the investigation because that could have completely taken the Twins out of the running (even though it's likely that another team would have made the request for the investigation if the Twins hadn't).
Despite his age, Sano has drawn comparisons to players such as Alex Rodriguez, Hanley Ramirez and Albert Pujols. I understand all of these comparisons, and I'd be lying if I don't get excited when I hear that his bat compares to that of Pujols', but it's not fair to put those kind of expectations on a player his age (or any player for that matter). Sano is currently listed as a shortstop but scouts believe he'll eventually "grow out" of t he position and be forced to move to either third base or corner outfield. Regardless, his bat is what will get him to the Major Leagues and so far, all reports have been very positive.
Sano has gone on record of saying that he wants to make it to the Major Leagues sometime in the next two years, but I find that pretty unlikely. The Twins will not rush Sano and that's something I'm sure they've expressed to him since signing. Having a player like Sano in the organization is a real treat and watching him (and how the organization handles him) throughout the next few seasons will be very interesting.
2009 Statistics
Not Available
2010 Outlook Sano will begin the season in Extended Spring Training before he joins the Gulf Coast League Twins in June. The Twins "tentative plan" is to have Sano play in the Dominican Summer League at some point in the summer.
Position | Shortstop
