Miguel Sanó is hotter than the summer heat

Miguel Sanó, Twins first baseman (⬆️ UP)

It has been a little toasty in the Twin Cities over the past few days and you’re looking for someone to blame, Sanó would be the answer since his bat is heating everything up. In the past week, the Twins first baseman has a monstrous slash line of .440/.548/.880 along with six RBI, six walks, seven runs and 11 hits, all of which are team-bests in that span. After his scorching streak, Sanó now has a .247 batting average which is well above the sub-.200 level he was batting previously.

Kenta Maeda, Twins starting pitcher (⬆️ UP)

After taking a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers last Tuesday, Maeda was dominant once again. In his start against Cleveland on Monday, Maeda threw five innings with five hits, one walk, one earned run and seven strikeouts. His ERA plummeted down to 2.21 and his WHIP is at 0.71. He has been filthy all season and if you’re a Twins fan, he’s who you want on the hill in a big playoff game. Trading for Maeda from the Los Angeles Dodgers has turned out to be an excellent move by Falvey and Levine.

Minnesota Timberwolves (⬆️ UP)

 The Timberwolves won the No. 1 overall draft pick!! Now the big question is what do Gersson Rosas and crew do with it. Will they stay put and draft at the top or do they make a trade?

Minnesota Football (⬇️ DOWN)

The Gophers are ranked No. 19 in the AP preseason poll. Yay! … Yay?

This is tough to see for all the Gophers out there. On one hand, it is good for P. J. Fleck’s program to get national recognition after an 11-win season, but on the other hand, they won’t play this year so it’s ultimately just a tease of how good they could have been. Sigh.

Nelson Cruz, Twins designated hitter (⬆️ UP)

Is Nelson Cruz a distant relative of Benjamin Button? Serious question. The 40-year-old slugger has been marvelous this year and has shown no signs of slowing down. He is batting .327 and added three more bombas to increase his total to 11, which is tied for the best in the American League. Minnesota has dealt with some slumps so far this season but Cruz seems to be immune.

Tyler Conklin, Vikings tight end (⬆️ UP)

Go up for it big man! If Conklin keeps this up the Vikings could have the best tight end corps in the league.

Way to close it out today, @T_Conk1! #VikingsCamp pic.twitter.com/k2Swnn4a9v

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) August 25, 2020

Jake Odorizzi, Twins pitcher (⬇️ DOWN)

Odorizzi was not at his best on Friday in his start against the Kansas City Royals. He pitched three innings and gave up seven hits and five earned runs while recording just one strikeout. Since coming off the injured list, all three of Odorizzi’s starts have been against Kansas City, so it was very familiar with his stuff. It will be interesting to see how he fares against a new opponent.

Napheesa Collier, Lynx guard (⬆️ UP)

Collier has been the epitome of consistency. In her past three games, she has scored 18, 20 and 18 points. She is also putting in effort in the paint, averaging 7.6 rebounds in the past week.