The Twins are notorious for giving their prospects a full season at every step up the ladder. They made an exception for Aaron Hicks to begin this season, having him skip Triple-A entirely, and it hasn't gone well.

I don't doubt that if Sano continues to perform as he has, he'll move up to Double-A midseason, but for him to advance three levels this season, he'd have to play for a different organization.

Plus, if the Twins fall out of the race as early as expected, they don't stand to gain anything by rushing Sano. It just doesn't add up to me.

"The team says that I could be promoted [to Double-A] next month, but I'm not distracted by that," Sano said. "Every day, I try to play tougher. And when I'm there, I will do the same thing: play hard every game, every day, every inning."

Sano doesn't have his eyes set on just a promotion to Double-A New Britain. He's thinking about debuting in the majors this year.

"I hope to be in the big leagues by the end of the year," he said. "I'm working on that. If it's not this year, it will be at the start of next year. I believe that I deserve the chance. I have the skills and potential."

Sano, who turns 20 on May 11, could be in line for a promotion to Double-A soon.

Sano was apparently fired up after Palm Beach pitcher Brandon Creath threw a high fastball behind Sano's head with two outs in the fifth inning. A few pitches later, Sano sent a 3-1 pitch over the left-field wall, then allegedly pumped his fists and shouted in the direction of the Palm Beach dugout, prompting his ejection. Fort Myers manager Doug Mientkiewicz came to Sano's defense, but he was also ejected along with outfielder Stephen Wickens.

"Basically, they threw at Miguel Sano for being good because they couldn't get him out," Mientkiewicz said, per MLB.com. "Hit him in the back, I won't like it, but it's part of the game. Throw at his head and it messes with his future and I have a problem with it. It's an embarrassment to the game of baseball."

Mientkiewicz believes Sunday's incident was retailiation for Sano flipping his bat after hitting a grand slam off Creath last week. Sano, who is considered the Twins' top prospect by MLB.com and Baseball America, is batting .375 (24 for 64) with five doubles, six home runs and 16 RBI in 16 games.