Miguel Sano: Top 5 Designated Hitter for 2016
By Bill Pivetz
With the World Series coming to an end, the 2015 baseball season is officially over. It was a good season with a lot to look forward to next year. The rookies will be better and the veterans look to keep their place as superstars. One of the rookies to make an impact for their team and fantasy owners was Minnesota Twins DH Miguel Sano. He was one of the better Twins hitters in 2015 and should be just as good in 2016.
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The Twins called Sano up on July 2. He drove in his first RBI on July 3 and hit his first home run on July 7. He ended the season with 18 home runs, 52 RBI, 119 strikeouts, 53 walks and a .269/.385/.530 line in just 80 games.
He was fourth in home runs, sixth in RBI and first in batting average among Twins hitters. He was fifth, 10th and 22nd in those stats among rookies. There were some really good rookies this season and Miguel Sano flew under the radar for a bit.
While he played most of his minor league games at third base, the Twins primarily used him as the designated hitter with Trevor Plouffe manning the hot corner. He had third-base eligibility this season, so fantasy owners got to use him there or in the corner infield spot. However, that won’t be the case entering the 2016 season.
Miguel Sano will be DH only next season. If I were to rank his 2015 season against the other designated hitters, he would have finished sixth on the Player Rater. He finished 292nd among all players. For playing just a half season, Sano was just as good as any of the average third basemen.
He was undrafted in ESPN leagues this season and finished with a 78.5 ownership percentage. If he plays 150 games (my ceiling for him), I rank him fifth among the designated hitters. Miguel Sano can make good contact with a lot of pop, but does strike out a significant amount.
Projections: 118 hits, 25 home runs, 96 RBI, .270 average
Draft: Round 17