Was between Mitch Haniger and Miguel Sano as my next sleeper, and maybe I’ll still do one for Haniger, but it’s doubtful because I figure one lottery ticket sleeper was enough. Another lottery ticket sleeper who I haven’t mentioned until right after this awkward sentence intro is Byron Buxton. For those of you old enough to remember Michael Pineda, oh, and, in hindsight, German Marquez. These were lottery tickets because the ceiling was high but the floor is covered in hay and human feces because you’re in a dungeon, being held there by some Norwegian who collects figurines and humans. Have we ever had a season where any of the guys I just mentioned (Marquez, Buxton, Pineda, Sano) did “just okay?” Is it even possible for Miguel Sano to be “just okay?” It feels impossible. All of these guys are crazy, hot girlfriends. “Yo, check her out just ladling out punch for the two of us, looking smoking hot.” Your friend gives you dap, then notices something, “Hey, did your hot girlfriend just put arsenic in your punch?” And that’s these guys. You might get some refreshing punch for your gut, or you might get a gut punch as you find out your girlfriend has been sleeping with everyone, including your uncle who always dresses like he just came from a job site. “Uncle Paul, why are you wearing a fluorescent vest in PF Chang’s?” “I have a dangerous job and I’m sleeping with your girlfriend.” So, what can we expect from Miguel Sano for 2020 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?
Something I didn’t mention above was why I chose Sano over the other crazy, hot girlfriend sleepers. It’s not groundbreaking, it’s because I like him the best. His ceiling feels like 50+ homers, and Haniger’s ceiling feels near-32 homers with a downside of embarrassment as pics are exposed of him having his nut cast being signed, “Hang in there.” In 380 at-bats last year, Miguel Sano hit 34 homers. Damn, did someone secretly break his hamate bone? He had the 4th best home run per at-bat, between Yelich and Albombso. Sano made 9% soft contact, which makes me make hard contact against my Bermuda shorts. He was 6th in the majors with barrels per plate appearance, right behind Trout and Judge. He was 2nd in the majors in exit velocity, behind Judge. His average home run distance was 415 feet and, if you’ve ever seen Sano, you know he’s not a product of the juiced ball. Bring out the bone-dry balls and Sano will make ’em wet. His hard hit percentage was the best in the majors. Sano broke out last year, and no one is drafting him like it happened. Yes, he’s an injury risk, which is why he’s a sleeper and not being drafted high. But a 26-year-old injury risk with 50+ homer power? I’m sorry, but Nelson Cruz was labeled injury-prone when he was 26 years old too. At one point, Just Dong Martinez was an injury-prone liability. Guys are injury prone until they shake that label. Will Sano hit .270+? Seems unlikely with his 35% strikeout rate, but he hit .247 last year and Joey Gallo hit .253. See, when you’re hitting everything hard, good things happen, even if you’re striking out more than 30% of the time. Speaking of Gallo, how does he get drafted around 55 overall and Sano around 150? There’s a major buying opportunity for Sano this year, and I’m drafting him everywhere. Let the juiced balls dry up and Sano still hits 45 dongers. For 2020, I’ll give Miguel Sano projections of 82/43/94/.241/1 in 524 ABs with a chance for much more.
