Sano off to Blazing Start

Like Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano has extremely high expectations for his MLB career. The power-hitting designated-hitter from the Dominican Republic is looked at as one of the top prospects in all of baseball, and is another reason why the Minnesota Twins have one of the top farm systems in baseball. Unlike Buxton, Sano has hit the ground running in his early major league career.

Sano was acquired by the Twins back in 2010 at the age of 17 and has impressed in his five years as a pro. In his first single-A season in 2012, the 19-year-old Sano slugged 28 homers and drove in 100 runs for the Twins affiliate, Beloit.

The baseball world quickly took notice as he entered the upcoming season as the number nine prospect in all of the minor leagues according to MLB.com. In 2013 Sano picked up where he left off in 2012. Between advanced-A and double-A, he hit .280, while clubbing 35 homers and 103 RBI's in 2013 as a 20-year-old.

The buzz continued to grow coming into the 2014 season. Like Buxton, Sano was a top-5 prospect on MLB.com. Also like Buxton, Sano would encounter a season-ending injury that would set his development back. He never played a game in 2014 and underwent Tommy John surgery that ended his season before it even began.

A year later, fears that Sano might never be the same have quickly vanished, as he is back to 100% and is continuing to impress. Sano spent the almost half of this season in the minors where he hit .274 and and belted 15 home runs in 66 games for Chattanooga, but last week he got the long-awaited call to come join the big league club in Minneapolis.

Sano has not looked back. Though he has just played in four games for the Twins, he has already left great impressions on the club and the Twins fan base. Sano has gotten at least one hit in each of his first four games in the big-leagues and is making a case for why he can be an every day player for the Twins right now.

Sano is hitting .400, with 6 hits in 15 at-bats, and he's got 2 RBI's and 2 doubles. While the power hasn't showed up yet for Sano, it is just a matter of time before some of the singles and doubles are 420 foot bombs into the seats. Sano has shown that he has the tendency to strike out a lot, already with 5 K's in 16 at-bats, but that is to be expected from a power-hitter like himself.

While Buxton is on the DL for the next couple weeks, the Twins community will still be buzzing about the play of Sano. Miguel Sano is just another example of how great the Twins farm system has been in recent years. The development of guys such as Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton, and Eddie Rosario shows why the Minnesota Twins are a team that will be contending for many years to come. And the rest of baseball has taken notice.