Sano reaches 100-RBI milestone

The Twins' top prospect reached 100 RBIs with a solo homer as Class A Beloit topped Quad Cities, 6-1, on Monday.

Sano's only hit was his Midwest League-leading 28th homer in the sixth inning for the Snappers. The 19-year-old third baseman was replaced by Adam Pettersen in the top of the seventh.

"It was a breaking ball up a little over the plate and I was a little out in front, but I got enough of it to hit the sign in left-center," Sano said through teammate Tim Shabuya, who served as a translator. "It's a big moment for me and my family. I was very emotional; this was one of my goals and I'm very happy to reach it, especially in the last game of the year."

The Dominican native was named to the Midwest League Postseason All-Star team on Aug. 29 following a year in which he led the league in homers and RBIs. Sano, who also named the league's Prospect of the Year, is second in the league with 80 walks, second with an .893 OPS and tops with 238 total bases.

"Overall I'm pretty happy with how my season went," Sano said. "The team is going to the playoffs and I've had my ups-and-downs and I have to learn from those and get ready for the playoffs. I'm very happy to be named the top prospect -- it was an honor to get it this year. If I can continue to play good baseball and keep on moving up, hopefully [even] to the big leagues one day."

Sano has come on strong for the Snappers in the second-half, batting .284 with 13 homers and 50 RBIs. The average represented a 47-point improvement over his first-half mark.

"I've been working hard every day, working with [hitting coach] Tommy [Watkins] and [manager] Nelson [Prada] to get ready to achieve my dream of playing in the big leagues," Sano said of his second-half success.

Wang-Wei Lin slugged a three-run homer and Stephen Wickens plated a pair of runs to pace Beloit, which will play Clinton in the first-round of the playoffs on Wednesday.

David Hurlbut improved to 6-6 after allowing an unearned run on three hits over five innings for the Snappers.