Miguel Ángel Jean Sanó (born May 11, 1993) is a Dominican professional baseball first baseman and third baseman for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB).
He made his MLB debut on July 2, 2015, and was an All-Star in 2017. Sanó has played for most of his career as a third baseman but played more first base in 2018 and 2019, and with the Twins signing of Josh Donaldson prior to the 2020 season, was the Twins’ primary first baseman.
Before the 2011 season, Baseball America rated Sanó the third-best prospect in the Twins’ minor league system. Sanó spent 2011 playing third base and shortstop for the Elizabethton Twins, the Twins affiliate in the Appalachian League, hitting .292 with 20 HR and 59 RBI.
After the 2011 season, Baseball America rated him the top prospect in the Appalachian League, the 18th-best prospect in all baseball, and (agreeing with Baseball Prospectus) the top Twins prospect.
In March 2019, Sanó underwent surgery on his Achilles. He returned to the line-up in May 2019. In 2019, he batted .247/.346/.576 with 34 home runs and 79 RBIs. He led the major leagues in the percentage of hard-hit balls, at 57.2%.
In 2020, Sanó hit .204/.278/.478 with 13 home runs and 25 RBIs during the shortened 60-game season, leading the majors with 90 strikeouts in 186 at-bats. In 2021, Sanó batted .223/.312/.466 with 30 home runs and 75 RBIs in 135 games. He struck out in 37.2% of his at-bats against right-handers, tops in the major leagues.
Where Was Miguel Sano Born?
Miguel Sanó was born into a poor Haitian household in San Pedro de Macors, Dominican Republic. Out of respect for the Dominican Republic, he elected to play baseball under the name Sanó, his mother’s surname, rather than his father’s surname, Jean.