The Minnesota Twins had been connected with the high school third baseman throughout the draft process, but drafted him as a shortstop.
The Minnesota Twins were in a great position heading into the 2019 MLB Draft as they have plenty of depth in their minor league system. With high upside prospects such as Royce Lewis and Alex Kirilloff to go with pitching prospects such as Brusdar Graterol, the Twins were in a position to go for the best guy on their board.
Coming into the draft, there was buzz from Baseball America’s Jim Callis that the Twins were smitten with high school third baseman Keoni Cavaco. When Minnesota was on the clock with the 13th overall pick on Monday night, they confirmed the chatter by drafting him as a shortstop to add to an already loaded middle infield.
Cavaco has been synonymous with the word helium throughout the draft process as he’s been a steady riser that once thought to be at the back half of the first round (as evidenced by his 28th overall ranking at MLB Pipeline). Thanks to a strong senior season, Cavaco forced his way into the upper half of the first round and has plenty of upside to back it up.
Cavaco, who turned 18 yesterday, is a strong third base prospect that has plenty of raw power and could be great in the field either at third or at shorstop. With the Twins already having Lewis, who was the #1 overall pick for the Twins in 2017, in their system, it’s likely that Cavaco will be moved back to the corner of the diamond, but he also has the arm to back it up with MLB Pipeline giving his arm and fielding a 60 grade.
As a younger prospect, Cavaco may need a little extra time to develop, but he’s another athletic prospect the Twins have coveted since Derek Falvey and Thad Levine took over in the front office. With Minnesota looking like they’ve hit on some of their more recent first-rounders, Cavaco could be another quality building block.