![]() ![]() Sano had so much power that connecting even a few times a week made him productive. His career on-base-plus-slugging percentage, even after all those ugly slumps, is. Torii Hunter vowed that Sano would upgrade the entire franchise.įirst, it's important to note that even when striking out at a prodigious rate, Sano was almost always valuable when healthy. Sano put up big numbers throughout the minors, and when the Twins called him to the big leagues in 2015, he immediately became the best and most disciplined hitter in the lineup of a contender. Former Twin Doug Mientkiewicz, who managed them at Class A Fort Myers, predicted stardom for both, and he said that Sano was more likely to become a team leader because of his audacious competitiveness.Įverywhere I went, scouts, officials from other teams and Twins officials were raving about the two. Sano was built like former Vikings great John Randle. Buxton was as fast as anyone in the game and had thrown a 100-mph pitch in high school. They were young, personable and wildly talented. Sano, his friends and Buxton fished in a "canal" by Daniels Parkway, a busy street near the ballpark. One day when Buxton and Sano were rehabilitating injuries at the Twins' facility in Fort Myers, I asked to go fishing with them. I traveled to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where Buxton was mimicking Mike Trout in the low minors, and spent time with Buxton and Sano in Fort Myers, Fla. I traveled to Buxton's hometown of Baxley, Ga., and his offseason home in Atlanta. The Twins, historically cautious about promoting prospects, decided in this case to be remarkably cooperative. ![]() When the Twins entered their years-long slump in the early 2010s, the Star Tribune decided to invest in covering Sano and another top Twins prospect named Byron Buxton. He should have become a perennial All-Star. The hype surrounding Sano as a youngster was deserved. He didn't fail because of a lack of talent. What happened to one of baseball's most celebrated prospects? The Twins cut Miguel Sano loose this week, ending a relationship of a dozen years. ![]()
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