Sano appears to be the real deal in Beloit victory over Kernels

CEDAR RAPIDS - Don't get too excited, Minnesota Twins fans. OK, go ahead and get excited.

You couldn't help but be if you were at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Wednesday night, where a potential future cornerstone player showed off some of his considerable talent in Beloit's 6-5 win over the Cedar Rapids Kernels.

His name is Miguel Sano. Most experts consider him the Twins' best prospect since some guy named Joe Mauer.

“One word: awesome,” Beloit Manager Nelson Prada said, when asked about Sano's first month in the Midwest League. “He's very good, a five-tool guy. I think he's going to be a star in the big leagues. The way his bat sounds is different from everyone else. He's very mature when he's playing the game. When he's outside (the ballpark), he's a child. He's a man child. But when he comes to play the game, he knows a lot of stuff. He's got good knowledge. He's a competitive guy, too.”

Sano, 18, signed with the Twins as an international free agent in 2009 for a record $3 million out of the Dominican Republic. He hit 20 home runs in 66 games in Rookie ball last season and has six already in 26 games with Beloit.

He had three hits and two RBIs last night to up his average to .293, also sending a ball to the fence in dead center that was caught. His raw power is immense.

“This month has been a little up and down,” said Sano, with the help of teammate Jhon Goncalves and hitting coach Tommy Watkins. “I don't like the cold. Every time I've played (before), it's been hot.”

Sano has grown considerably since Minnesota signed him and is bigger than his listed 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds. He has a chiseled physique.

But because of that, he has been moved from shortstop to third, an adjustment that he's still making, as you could tell by his two errors.

“I got bigger, now I weigh 233, so the Twins said play third base,” he said. “It's OK. I am adapting to third base. I like it. I like third base better than shortstop.”

“I think the Twins have to be patient with him because it's his first full year,” Prada said. “At least I'm sure they want him to play the first half here. I don't think they'll make a move with him before we finish the first half ... I think they've got him on pace to be in the big leagues in 2014.”

Beloit improved to 15-11 despite committing four errors that allowed the Kernels (12-14) to have a chance late. A solo home run to left by Rory Rhodes leading off the eighth proved to be the game-winning run.

Cedar Rapids had its first two hitter reach to lead off the bottom of the ninth, but Kevin Moesquit struck out on a third-strike fouled bunt and Ryan Jones grounded into a double play to end the game. The teams play again Thursday night at 6:35.

Here is a copy of the game boxscore:

Scoreboard _ Midwest League Scoreboard