The Twins announced Tuesday that they’ve signed first-round pick Keoni Cavaco. The deal will pay Cavaco $4.05MM according to Jim Callis of MLB.com, who first reported the signing (via Twitter). That comes in $192K under slot value for the No. 13 overall pick. Cavaco will head to the Twins’ Rookie-level affiliate in the Gulf Coast League, the team announced in today’s release.
An 18-year-old out of Eastlake High School in Chula Vista, Calif., Cavaco’s draft stock soared this spring. He wasn’t considered to be a first-round talent earlier in the year and was ranked a bit further down the board than the Twins’ selection. Fangraphs tabbed Cavaco as the draft’s No. 22 prospect, while MLB.com ranked him 28th and Baseball America ranked him 31st. Reports in the days leading up to the draft strongly tied Minnesota to Cavaco, though, and it’s highly unlikely that he’d have lasted to the Twins’ next pick.
Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen wrote that a growth spurt boosted Cavaco’s draft stock, adding that he has the “best frame” in the class and had grown into a considerable power surge. Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com wrote that Cavaco has potential plus power and could develop into a plus defender at third base, but he’s a work in progress both in the field and at the plate. He’s a high-risk, high-reward prospect who’ll add to a well-regarded Twins farm system that is headlined by 2017 No. 1 overall pick Royce Lewis.