MLB Draft: Grading every Twins first round pick since 2010
By Josh Hill
2019 MLB Draft
Keoni Cavaco. Keoni Cavaco. C. 3B, Eastlake High School . 13th Overall Pick
The jury is very much still out on Keoni Cavaco, who hasn’t been given as much development time thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. He barely made a dent in Rookie-level ball in 2019, hitting a miserable .172 and then lost his entire 2020 season when the league cancelled all minor league games due to the pandemic.
Cavaco is trending in the right direction, hitting .233 and .231 respectively over the last two seasons, but he’s not lighting the farm system on fire. He doesn’t rank among the Top 30 prospects but he’s only 21-years old and has time left to develop. He has a tendency to chase pitches and posted an absolutely brutal 138-to-22 strikeout-to-walk ratio at Low-A last year, so there’s plenty of room for improvement.
2020 MLB Draft
Aaron Sobato. C. 1B, North Carolina. 27th Overall Pick. Aaron Sobato
Everything about 2020 feels like it’s a wash. While the COVID-19 pandemic wiped away a seasons-worth of development for guys like Keoni Cavaco, it also forced teams to essentially draft blind that year.
Aaron Sobato was a borderline college superstar at North Carolina, but the Twins weren’t able to do their normal amount of due diligence on him thanks to pandemic restrictions. For whatever reason, Sobato has taken some steps back in his development since being drafted.
He hit just 32 percent of the time versus low-minors pitching, which is not what you’re looking for. There’s a slip side to that coin where he adds power to the Twins lineup, something he showed by hitting 22 home runs in 2022 but there always seems to be a yo-yo effect with his skills.
While he showed potential as a power hitter, Sobato also hit a meager .209 with 291 strikeouts in 210 games.