Miguel Sano of the Minnesota Twins bats against the Chicago White Sox on July 25, 2020 at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Ron Vesely/Getty Images)
The Minnesota Twins’ Miguel Sanó started off cold in 2020, but has gotten hot as the year has progressed. He may just be getting started.
In 2020, the Minnesota Twins have seen two versions of Miguel Sanó. The first version of Sanó got off to a slow start at the plate through his first 13 games, but the second version saw him bounce back and even come close to setting a team record for most consecutive games with an extra base hit.
Sanó’s first three at bats on Saturday are symbolic to these versions, showing how his season has gone with the theme of overcoming a slow start and getting stronger as time goes on. Sanó struck out on his first at-bat. He followed that up with an RBI single in his second at-bat. He then turned it up a notch.
In his third at-bat Sanó hit a home run to left field before delivering in that fourth at bat with the game was on the line. Sanó added an RBI single to tie the game at three in the ninth inning. Later that inning, Byron Buxton would beat out a throw to first base, capping off the ninth inning rally with a walk-off RBI single as the Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers 4-3.
On Saturday, Sanó came to his first at bat with 122 at-bats prior and struck out 61 times. “Though half of his at bats result in strikeouts, it is not a bad thing, because Sanó is constantly swinging with power,” former Twin Justin Morneau said during Saturday’s broadcast.
“While Sanó could be more selective for when to power swing and when to swing purely for contact, with Sanó’s production his aggressive approach is making him effective whether he is hitting in gaps for base hits or hitting over the fence.” Morneau said, justifying that Sanó’s approach is what creates big plays.
With the Twins entering the final third of this 2020 season, here are three reasons why fans should feel optimistic about Sanó heading into the final third of the season.
Miguel Sano (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
Reason No. 3: The slow start is behind Sanó
Through Sanó’s first five games in 2020, he had been limited to one hit in his first 17 at-bats to comprise a battering average of .059. Over the next eight games it didn’t improve much either, as he was batting .111 over the first 13 games.
Sanó has never been a great average hitter, but this was egregious. He broke out of the slump in early August before going on a tear later that month. What was the primary cause of his early season struggles?
It’s actually simple. Before the season, Sanó tested positive for COVID-19. As a result, he was forced to sit out during team workouts for his health and other proper protocol procedures. Missing the early reps, Sanó was thrown into the season, and he seemed just a little off with his mechanics.
Much like a player trying to find his rhythm after an injury, that appeared to be what the slow start was about. Similar to the 2019 season (when Sanó missed the first 41 games that season due to a heel injury), it took some time for Sanó to find his groove. Once he did however, he became a key contributor to the Bomba Squad.
The slow start in 2020 is very much behind Sanó now, almost as much behind him as the time in 2018, when former manager Paul Molitor sent the All-Star to the Class A team in the minor leagues. Sanó was sent on a path where he would have to climb up the ranks and build his way back to the majors (while losing weight in the process). With Sanó in mid-season form now, it looks like he will have a strong finish to 2020 (as long as he stays healthy).
Reason No. 2: Sanó’s Power is the best on the Minnesota Twins
The Bomba Squad is always more dangerous when their hitters are rolling on all cylinders, and that includes Miguel Sanó. Sanó is right behind Nelson “Boom Stick” Cruz in home runs. Cruz has 13 homers and is followed by Sanó with nine.
What makes Sanó’s swing so dangerous is that even when he doesn’t find the sweet spot on the bat, he still crushes bombas. This includes a homer he hit against the Kansas City Royals on August 23, when on a full count, he smashed a homer that hit the museum at Kauffman Stadium.
Miguel Sano and Rocco Baldelli talk about Sano's power and mammoth home run on Saturday pic.twitter.com/kAIS7OTpJy
“You know what [is] the funny part with that [home run]? I didn’t hit it really well,” Sanó said postgame.
In 2019, Sanó reworked his swinging mechanics. He made adjustments to where he positioned his hands when batting, a method he incorporated to help him get contact with pitches he had struggled with prior.
That adjustment, coupled with other tweaks to his swing, broke him out of a slump and made Sanó even more of a threat at the plate. He had a successful second half of the season, finishing with 34 homers, and in 2020 Sanó is still seeing that work payoff.
Through 37 games this season, he ranks in the top 25 in slugging percentage at .556. With Sanó in rhythm and bound to improve his performance down the stretch, his power will be key for the Minnesota Twins.
Last month, Sanó recorded a career best 10-game hitting streak from August 17 through August 26. Sanó was 15 for 36 at the plate, with nine doubles, two home runs and drawing six walks. His batting average rose from .140 to .247 and slugging percentage from .386 to .559.
In just that span of games, he recorded eight straight games with an extra base hit, a mark that tied Minnesota Twins’ legends Harmon Killebrew and Tony Oliva for the second longest streak in team history.
The hitting streak has definitely restored confidence in Sanó going forward as he has had an extra pep in his step ever since. His showboating in Saturday’s game against the Detroit Tigers offers a great example of this.
After hitting his 100th career home run, he flipped his bat before circling the bases. It wasn’t just a bat flip, in between innings he had a friendly exchange with opposing pitcher Joe Jiménez from dugout to dugout:
With Sanó’s confidence soaring beyond the lights at Target Field, this month may be his best performance yet in 2020. With the Twins sitting at third place in the AL Central they are only a game back from topping the division. Sanó is one of many Twins players who can get this team over the hump during this playoff push.
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