“With a game that can impact the game the way Miggy does, we do end up talking about him a lot,” manager Rocco Baldelli said Friday before the Twins' game against the Detroit Tigers at Target Field.
Sano has struggled to find any sort of consistent production since 2017, an all-star season in which he hit 28 home runs and drove in 77 runs in 114 games. He had career-highs of 34 home runs and 79 RBIs in 2019 but was limited by injuries to just 105 games.
The power is still here — he has 28 home runs in 119 games between last season and this one — but he batted .202 with 181 strikeouts over that time. He started so slowly this season, Baldelli and his staff had him platooning at first base against left-handed pitchers. Between June 18-July 4, Sano didn’t start against a single righty.
That has changed this month. On Friday, Sano made his sixth straight start against a right-hander, this time Detroit’s Matt Manning.
“Like anything else, performance always helps,” Baldelli said, “and we’ll always try to find ways to get Miggy, or anyone else, in the lineup whenever possible when they’re really playing well and swinging the bat great.”
Before Friday, Sano was hitting .333 with three doubles, two home runs, three RBIs, four walks and just eight strikeouts in 37 plate appearances. The last part is important. Sano, 28, hits the ball hard when he gets the barrel on the ball, Baldelli noted, but it’s been a challenge.
“(He) has some of the swing-and-miss parts of his game that are real,” the manager said.
Among active Twins, Sano, 28, ranks first in swings and misses, according to baseballsavant.mlb.com — 38.2 percent. The league average is 24.5 percent.
“With the swing-and-miss part of his game, he’s on that threshold sometimes,” Baldelli said. “When he drops below that threshold of either not seeing the ball well or just not getting the barrel to the ball — and his swing getting a little long — that’s when he ends up in a funk.
“He has to find his way and adjust and work his way out of that. I’m kind of stating the obvious here, but it’s truly the reality of the situation.”
Help on the way
Catcher Mitch Garver and outfielder Jake Cave appear on their way to rehab assignments as early as next week in St. Paul, when the Saints begin a six-game homestand against Columbus.
Garver has been out since getting hit in the groin by a foul tip on June 2, and Cave has been sidelined by a stress fracture in his lower back since May 31.
“I think these guys are lined up to go play in St. Paul coming up next week,” Baldelli said. “We’re going to continue to evaluate them, though, before we make a final call — time and place and date, things like that. But I think these guys are getting to the point where they can get back on the field and get some at-bats.”
Garver caught a bullpen session Thursday for the first time since his injury. The Twins’ best catcher, Garver was batting .224 with eight doubles, eight home runs and 17 RBIs in 41 games.
“Mitch is doing great,” Baldelli said. “He’s going to be moving around. He’s going to be catching, throwing, swinging the bat.”
Briefly
Byron Buxton, out since June 22 with a fracture in his left hand, has been limited to aerobic work while the hand heals. “He’s not going to be able to do any of his baseball activities until he gets clearance for his hand,” Baldelli said. … Pitching prospect Josh Winder, hit in the neck by a comebacker Wednesday in Des Moines, is doing well. But the Twins aren’t certain he’ll pitch in the Futures Game Sunday in Denver as planned, farm director Alex Hassan said. … Shortstop Andrelton Simmons didn’t start Friday, but Baldelli said it was a regular day off and not related to a left ankle injury that has bothered him
"still" - Google News
July 10, 2021 at 07:37AM
https://ift.tt/3hX9M3N
Twins still working on Miguel Sano's bat - Pine Journal
"still" - Google News
https://ift.tt/35pEmfO
https://ift.tt/2YsogAP
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Twins still working on Miguel Sano's bat - Pine Journal"
Post a Comment