Many of you (none of you) have been asking me the same question, day after day (no one’s asked me), when are you going to mustache model? The 2nd most asked question (that no one is asking) is when are we going to get another Donkey. We’ve had Adam Dunn, the Big Donkey. Mark Reynolds, the Mini Donkey. Ian Stewart, the Mini Mini Donkey. Donkeys can hit 35 homers, give a handful of steals and hit .240 while being at a corner infield position. (Dunn’s speed was when he was younger; he once stole 19 bases, and Stewart’s power was when it seemed like he could hit in the major leagues). It’s Donkey season and there’s a new Donkey. Miguel Sano is Donkey Jr. The Donkey Jr. show is near, and you don’t have to turn away in disgust from this donkey show hoping you get no unwanted fluids on your shirt. In fact, you may want to take part in it without feeling like you need to change your name and leave a note to your family for the disgusting display you took part in. So, what can we expect of Miguel Sano for 2014 fantasy baseball?
His power is immense. He could hit 35 home runs right now in the majors. That’s at 20 years old. Zoinks! I’d also be impressed if he could hit above .230 without a BABIP of at least .380, which is nearly impossible. He also has 10-steal speed. This is all at 3rd base. Miguel Sano most definitely does not get the Gas Face. Last year, he hit 19 homers in Double-A. Whatever, right? That was in a half a year! He only played 67 games in Double-A. He was in High-A prior to that where he hit 16 homers in 56 games. He’s basically demolishing pitches everywhere he goes. Between Double and High-A, he also stole 11 bases. The big problem is he had a strikeout percentage of 29.3% in Double-A. That’s not playable right now in the majors. If that were only to go up a few percentage points in the majors, he’s gonna strikeout 200 times in a full season. He’s gonna make Pedro Alvarez look like a contact hitter. Alvarez is actually a good comparison (that’s why I’m making it). Alvarez has been in the league for 4 (stutterer!) years and is still hitting .230-ish. Sano takes more walks than Alvarez, but if the Twins are hoping to avoid a development curve like Alvarez, they’ll leave Sano in the minors for at least a few months. He needs to strike out less or he’s gonna hit .220 for three years in the majors. For 2014, I’ll give him the line of 19/9/32/.235/2 in 120 ABs. He’s gonna be a great one, but he needs to take major steps in his plate discipline first and he has time for it.
