Miguel Angel Sano: Minnesota Twin?

by Jesse on Jun 20, 2009 8:00 AM EDT in News Comment 8 comments

The Twins haven't been major players in the international market, but are one of the front-runners for this year's consensus top pick.

As Jorge Aranqure Jr. of ESPN.com wrote yesterday morning, Major League Baseball is investigating the age of top international prospect Miguel Angel Sano. Listed as 16, but with a physique that implies he could be older, after the Twins requested more detail on his background MLB launched their own investigation. Should Sano's age be verified as correct, Minnesota is considered one of two front-runner teams along with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Sano's agent has already had a DNA bone graft done, which reported that he's in the 16-17 range. So I'm cautiously optimistic for now.

For those of you unfamiliar with Sano, and why he's considered the best international signing, here's some tidbits from a great scouting report by BP's Kiley McDaniel:

Some expect Sano to get a signing bonus of $4.5 million dollars. If he doesn't break the record for the largest signing bonus, he'll be right against the line.
Labelled as "special".
Great makeup.
Currently a shortstop, but many scouts expect a move to third base as he fills out.
Grades out well offensively.
Power projections fall between good and great, depending on who you read; McDaniel says good raw power to all fields, with improvement as he fills out. It's all about filling out...
Compares to Evan Longoria; in other reports Alex Rodriguez and Hanley Ramirez. Comparibles like this are worthless when the prospect is this far away, but color-by-number is a great way to quickly scan what kind of tools these kids have.
Along with the Twins and Pirates, other teams attached to Sano: Yankees, Cubs, Cardinals, Orioles, Rays, Blue Jays, Athletics and Rangers. Probably more that I've missed.

When Kobe Bryant or LeBron James were just coming out of high school into the NBA, you knew without a doubt that they were going to be superstars. Christian Ronaldo? Superstar. Is Sano at that level? I don't think so, but he's clearly highly considered and with good reason. It doesn't matter which club ends up signing him, they have to consider their farm system to have a new top prospect.

It sports, especially over the last few years, there's always hype over the next young prodigy. The younger and more hyped-up they are, the more the media outlets will adopt them as their darling as proceed to bleed any sense of a story to death. Sano is that guy for this summer, and I'm more than happy to have the Twins involved. Stay tuned, and see if Minnesota can sign their best prospect since Joe Mauer on July 2.

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why

are the twins front runners?
If he is as good as advertised why wouldn’t the cubs, yanks or someone else just offer more money? If its a bidding war Bill Smith is sure to lose.
Do the twins have some kind of “in”?

by clutterheart on Jun 20, 2009 8:56 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I only know what I've read,

which is that the Yankees aren’t in on him, and most other big-spenders either aren’t willing to dish out a record signing bonus or don’t like the risks involved in signing a kid who may not be as old as he says he is. Sano is immensely talented, and I think some are a little skeptical. This could change once MLB completes their investigation into his actual age.

The Pirates and Twins have also been the teams keeping in constant contact with Sano. They’re making their interests known, and it’s always a foot in the door to signing a guy when you’re the one showing all the interest.

by Jesse on Jun 21, 2009 8:15 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

As much as anything, this is symbolic

The Twins had Miguel Cabrera in their Venezuelan academy and it was supposed to be a sure thing that he would end up a Twin. But the Marlins came in and offered a $1 million signing bonus, which was four times what the Twins had offered, and he signed with the Marlins. Imagine the 2006 Twins with Cabrera at third or DH and hitting between Mauer and Morneau.

People who call the Pohlads cheap have a legitimate argument on that one. You can say we will never sign high-buck free agents because it’s a waste of money. But if that’s your position, you have to spend money on draft choices and international players. We can’t focus on Australia and Europe just because it’s cheaper. We have to be players in the Dominican and Venezuela as well.

Last year was the first time I saw them draft less for signability and more for talent And they signed something like the top 25 picks, which is awesome. This year, they drafted some tough signs who were the top talent at their slots. I will be watching the signings with great interest. If the Twins don’t make a good offer to this kid, that is a signal that they are still scrimping on international signings. That’s not good going into a situation in 2010 where the revenue picture looks about 30% better.

"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot

by cmathewson on Jun 20, 2009 11:55 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Twins & Pittsburgh...

Interesting these 2 Free Spending teams are supposed to be leading the chase.

Back at the time of the draft, most Pirates fans considered this a done deal for them, AND only very recently have I heard of the Twins link.

Not sure why Bill Smith would want verification/clarification of age without strong interest. It’s not like the average Twins fan is going to have a clue one way or the other. Only us blog fanatics are interested.

Regards,

I don't suffer from insanity...I relish every moment of it!

by the Dragon on Jun 20, 2009 2:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Smith wants clarification of age

because most of these “international” prospects just plain old lie about their age. They say they are 17 and then, once they are signed to huge 5 million dollar signing bonus contracts, it is then found out that they are in reality 23-25.

by 33MorneauMVP on Jun 20, 2009 5:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

let's be a little more accurate

Has there been anyone who’s age has been found to be 6-8 years off? 2-3 years is more common.

And they lie because they are invited to lie by major league baseball and their “agents” down in the Dominican, many of whom are inethical in the extreme. These are mostly poor kids for whom this kind of money changes their families lives in a huge way. Someone tells them “here’s your new birth cirtificate” they aren’t going to ask a lot of questions.

In the meantime, my understanding on Sano is that there is NO evidence that he’s older than 16, but a lot of jealousy. He may be, I guess, but let’s not paint with too broad a brush.

by Eric in Madison on Jun 20, 2009 5:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs