Miguel Angel Sano to undergo Tommy John surgery

Bothered for months by a sore elbow, Twins' No. 2 prospect Miguel Sano will undergo Tommy John surgery next week and is expected to miss the entire 2014 season.

The 20-year-old Haitian third baseman felt something in his right elbow Thursday after making a hurried throw during an intrasquad game in Fort Myers, Fla. He underwent an MRI that revealed a torn ulnar collateral ligament and will travel to the Twin Cities, where the procedure will be performed, MLB.com reported.

"We knew the test was going to be when he had to make a pivot and turn a double play at second or like it bothered him when he came in on a slow roller and he made a strong throw to first," Twins assistant general manager Rob Antony told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "That's when he said he felt it again. Up until then, every day [it was], 'Nope, don't feel it.'

"You start gaining some optimism and you get a little excited thinking maybe this is going to work out and he won't need [surgery]. But when something happens and he has a setback like that, you have to deal with it."

Recovery time for position players is roughly six months, meaning Sano likely will sit out what would have been his fourth season in the Minor Leagues.

"He's a little bummed out. He wants to play baseball," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire told the newspaper. "But as I told him, you've just got to let [the doctors] take care of it."

Taking a look at Miguel Angel Sano

This past week, 1500 Espn posted an article about Miguel Sano claiming he's ready for the big leagues during Spring Training. While Sano's numbers have looked great in the minor leagues thus far, it's a bit of a stretch to say he'd be ready for every day play with the club.

When he was asked by Derek Wetmore when he thought he'd get the call - not when he thought he would be ready - his response was "I believe September, May, June...I'm ready, you know? I'm going to work hard, the Twins take the decision when I play in the Major Leagues." It's not surprising that after his continued success, Sano feels ready to take on the Bigs, but looking more in-depth at some of his minor league numbers may tell a different story.

In his 1606 plate appearances in the minors, Sano has hit a career .279 with 90 home runs and 291 RBI. That 90 HR means he's hitting a dinger every 18 plate appearances (or so). His career ISO is an impressive .325, to add to the talent. If that were to actually be able to translate to the majors, it would be incredible. We all know, however, that minor league numbers often do not translate when the player reaches the Bigs.

Sano's potential is obviously pretty high, as he's basically murdered the ball at every level of A-ball he's been at so far, but the pitching he's facing now -- and the pitching he had been facing at low-A ball as well -- is nowhere near the talent he'll be seeing when he joins the club.

VIDEO: Miguel Sano blasts 2 HRs vs The Reading Fightin Phils, August 30, 2013

Miguel Angel Sano, a Haitian professional baseball player and Minnesota Twins (MLB) No. 1 prospect, blasts 2 HRs vs Reading in New Britains, 7-3, victory on August 30, 2013.

Miguel Angel Sano battles for Twins roster spot at Spring Training

Earning an Opening Day big league roster spot is a lofty goal for many prospects. It gets loftier if a prospect has spent months rehabilitating a strained elbow ligament.

Declaring his elbow healthy, Twins No. 2 prospect Miguel Sano said he wants to play in Minnesota at some point this season.

"My elbow feels pretty good right now," Sano told TwinCities.com on Friday while attending TwinsFest. "I'm throwing again. I threw a little bit in Florida, three or four days."

MLB.com's freshly minted No. 4 overall prospect also said the elbow checked out during a physical examination Friday. And while the team has not ruled out Tommy John surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament, the 20-year-old third baseman said emphatically he will not need the procedure.

"For me, no surgery," he said. "I'm sure."

Miguel Angel Sano ranked second-best Minnesota Twins prospect by SB Nation

Adam Brett Walker's votes had been piling up over the last couple of rounds, and that played out in Round 11. The number 12 prospect in the Twins farm system, voted by the Twinkie Town faithful, is the 22-year old Walker. He garnered 39% of the vote.

Miguel Angel Sano tops list of breakout performers in the Minnesota Twins system

This offseason, MiLB.com will be honoring the players -- regardless of age or prospect status -- who had the best seasons in their organizations. We're taking a look at each team to determine the outstanding seasons in Minor League baseball. Select a team from the dropdown below.

The debate over which organization has baseball's best farm system might be a close one, but there's no question that Minnesota's ranks in the upper echelon of player development pipelines. There's certainly no debating that the Twins' one-two prospect punch of Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano is the tops in the game.

Scary thing is, there's plenty to excite Minnesota fans beyond that duo. Three of the team's full-season affiliates qualified for postseason play (Triple-A Rochester, Class A Advanced Fort Myers and Class A Cedar Rapids), but more important to the big picture, the Twins' big-name prospects emerged as budding can't-miss stars, while former sleepers and unknowns became breakout performers, and in some cases, Major League contributors.

Miguel Angel Sano's winter ball season cut short by elbow injury

On the heels of a dispiriting 96-loss season in the American League, the Twins now feel the sting of injuries to two of the game’s premier prospects. The organization believes neither injury is serious, however.

Third baseman Miguel Sano won’t play the remainder of the Dominican League season because of a strained collateral ligament in his right elbow. He appeared in two games for the Estrellas and went 1-for-5 with four walks and two strikeouts. Sano stands as the top power-hitting prospect in the minors and ranked No. 3 on our midseason Top 50 update.

Sano flew back to Minnesota last week to be examined by team doctors, according to La Velle Neal of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, before then flying to Alabama to meet with Dr. James Andrews on Tuesday.

While that sounds ominous, Andrews agreed that with the Twins’ diagnosis that Sano, the No. 2 prospect in the Double-A Eastern League this year, has a strain but nothing more serious.

Going the Distance: Miguel Angel Sano

Remember when he was Miguel Angel Sano and then Miguel Angel? Now he's Miguel Sano. But I still haven't updated his name from when I dropped him into MLB '10 The Show. In the game, Matt Vasgersian still pronounces his name "Miguel........Angel".

The last of our sponsored series for prospects going all the way came down to two choices: Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano. After all we've written about Buxton lately, I decided we should give a little love to Sano.

As 2009's biggest and most sought-after international prospect signed with the Twins in 2009, there were two things that were on the radar from the very start. First, his power potential was enormous. There were comps to Evan Longoria and Alex Rodriguez and Hanley Ramirez. Second, people were convinced that because of his size at age 16 that he's move from shortstop to third base and, after that, into right field or first base. One of those two things turned out to be incredibly accurate.

Every baseball fan who pays even loose attention to the minor leagues knows to Miguel Sano is, because of that power potential. He's been named the Twins best power prospect every year since 2010, he's been one of his league's top two prospects every year since 2010, and in 2012 Baseball America named him the Midwest League's Best Power Prospect.

Miguel Angel Sano named to 2013 Minnesota Twins All-Prospect Team

There's been an increased focus on the farm system around Twinkie Town this season, which isn't a surprise to anybody. The future is bright, allegedly, so why not look toward that light at the end of the tunnel?

This is a new feature that I imagine we'll be able to run in September every year. The 25-man roster is comprised entirely of prospects in the Minnesota farm system, and will include a lot of the Twins' top prospects. Guidelines are subjective, with performance and ceiling both being competing variables and age being a factor as well.

September callups are still eligible for the roster, while guys who had extended time on the Major League roster (Oswaldo Arcia, Aaron Hicks, Kyle Gibson) are not. ETA years are estimated based on one level per year, adjusted plus or minus time depending on the player, and of course whether or not they are already on the 40-man roster.