Cavaco Released

[Linus]

2019 first round pick (13th) overall Keoni Cavaco was released. He was hitting .144 in Cedar Rapids. This one will go down as a really bad draft choice as Cavaco never really did a thing in the minors. 

[Mike Sixel]

Not many of us liked the pick.... Too bad it didn't work. 

[Dman]

I was sorry to hear he was let go, but they gave him as much time as they could to improve and he has been pretty much the same hitter since he walked in as a teenager.  I am sure he gave it everything he had but only about 5% of these guys make it all the way.  Has to be tough to see your dream come to an end.  I wish him the best.

[Cory Engelhardt]

Worth it to take a shot on a lottery ticket every once in a while. He didn’t work here, which happens. Baseball is hard. Wish him well

[FlyingFinn]

Kind of ironic that they called up Payton Eeles to take his place, an undrafted free agent signee. Eeles deserved the call up.

[D.C Twins]

It was past time.... I wish him well. Hopefully he can get another opportunity somewhere else. 

[gunnarthor]

Too bad, best of luck to him.

[ashbury]

Hope he figures out how to pick up the pieces and find his way forward in life.

[bean5302]

3 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Not many of us liked the pick.... Too bad it didn't work. 

Seemed like a mixed bag on Cavaco at the time of the draft. I was surprised Cavaco got a leash this long. He really has struggled.

[bean5302]

46 minutes ago, ashbury said:

Hope he figures out how to pick up the pieces and find his way forward in life.

That $4.05MM signing bonus, if it wasn't squandered, should be sufficient to retire right now, even if he decided not to pursue other opportunities at the ripe old age of 23.

His legs weren't just chopped off by an ax murderer or something, and I'm positive this wasn't something that came out of the blue and surprised him.

[ashbury]

6 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

That $4.05MM signing bonus, if it wasn't squandered, should be sufficient to retire right now, even if he decided not to pursue other opportunities at the ripe old age of 23.

His legs weren't just chopped off by an ax murderer or something, and I'm positive this wasn't something that came out of the blue and surprised him.

Life isn't money, money isn't life, and you will dispute the most anodyne expression of well-wishes to someone who got bad news, for no reason I can possibly think of.  Have a nice rest of the evening.

[bean5302]

16 minutes ago, ashbury said:

Life isn't money, money isn't life, and you will dispute the most anodyne expression of well-wishes to someone who got bad news, for no reason I can possibly think of.  Have a nice rest of the evening.

You insinuating his life is in ruins and he's miserable so you should pity him isn't a good take, IMHO. I'd rather hope he's disappointed, but understanding of the situation and he's looking forward to the rest of life with the resources to do whatever he wants.

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

Crazy to think that he's still only 23.

[Cody Christie]

Wrote a little bit about him in a story this morning

 

[Doctor Gast]

I'm really sorry for him but he had an uphill battle with the large glut of big bat-no-glove players that the Twins focus upon competing for the 1B/DH position. Another waste of a 1st round pick, which is no fault of his, maybe he had the pressure of performing being the 1st round pick. Wish him luck & hope he finds his dream no matter what it is.

[Road trip]

12 hours ago, Dman said:

I was sorry to hear he was let go, but they gave him as much time as they could to improve and he has been pretty much the same hitter since he walked in as a teenager.  I am sure he gave it everything he had but only about 5% of these guys make it all the way.  Has to be tough to see your dream come to an end.  I wish him the best.

Well, yes, for minor leaguers in general, but for players picked 13th overall the percentage is much much higher.  The vast majority made the majors, even if only a few became stars.  Here are the 13th overall picks since 2000.

2023	1		FrRnd	13	Cubs	Y	$4,848,500	Matt Shaw (minors)	SS													4Yr	University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
2022	1		FrRnd	13	Angels	Y	$3,500,000	Zach Neto (minors)	SS	3.5	154	530	19	.236	.709							4Yr	Campbell University (Buies Creek, NC)
2021	1		FrRnd	13	Phillies	Y	$3,900,000	Andrew Painter (minors)	P													HS	Calvary Christian HS (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
2020	1		FrRnd	13	Giants	Y	$3,797,500	Patrick Bailey (minors)	C	2.7	145	480	12	.250	.693							4Yr	North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC)
2019	1		FrRnd	13	Twins	Y	$4,050,000	Keoni Cavaco (minors)	SS													HS	Eastlake HS (Chula Vista, CA)
2018	1		FrRnd	13	Marlins	Y	$4,038,200	Connor Scott (minors)	OF													HS	H. B. Plant HS (Tampa, FL)
2017	1		FrRnd	13	Marlins	Y	$3,400,000	Trevor Rogers (minors)	LHP	3.4	25	43	0	.070	.161	73	14	31	4.31	1.39	0	HS	Carlsbad HS (Carlsbad, NM)
2016	1		FrRnd	13	Rays	Y	$2,597,500	Josh Lowe (minors)	3B	3.5	212	722	24	.265	.761							HS	Pope HS (Marietta, GA)
2015	1		FrRnd	13	Rays	Y	$2,959,600	Garrett Whitley (minors)	OF													HS	Niskayuna HS (Niskayuna, NY)
2014	1		FrRnd	13	Padres	Y	$2,900,000	Trea Turner (minors)	SS	34.9	1038	4205	152	.298	.833							4Yr	North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC)
2013	1		FrRnd	13	Padres	Y	$2,678,000	Hunter Renfroe (minors)	RF	9.9	897	3108	183	.237	.770							4Yr	Mississippi State University (Mississippi State, MS)
2012	1		FrRnd	13	White Sox	Y	$2,475,000	Courtney Hawkins (minors)	OF													HS	Mary Carroll HS (Corpus Christi, TX)
2011	1		FrRnd	13	Mets	Y	$2,100,000	Brandon Nimmo (minors)	OF	22.6	827	2815	95	.267	.821							HS	East HS (Cheyenne, WY)
2010	1		FrRnd	13	White Sox	Y	$1,656,000	Chris Sale (minors)	LHP	49.3	14	26	0	.115	.269	356	129	82	3.1	1.04	12	4Yr	Florida Gulf Coast University (Fort Myers, FL)
2009	1		FrRnd	13	Athletics	Y	$2,750,000	Grant Green (minors)	SS	-1.7	129	330	4	.249	.620							4Yr	University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)
Year	Rnd	DT	FrRnd	RdPck	Tm	Signed	Bonus	Name	Pos	WAR	G	AB	HR	BA	OPS	G	W	L	ERA	WHIP	SV	Type	Drafted Out of
2008	1		FrRnd	13	Cardinals	Y	$1,840,000	Brett Wallace (minors)	1B	-0.2	494	1284	40	.238	.705							4Yr	Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ)
2007	1		FrRnd	13	Indians	Y	$1,575,000	Beau Mills (minors)	1B													4Yr	Lewis-Clark State College (Lewiston, ID)
2006	1		FrRnd	13	Cubs	Y	$1,475,000	Tyler Colvin (minors)	OF	0.9	441	1215	49	.239	.733							4Yr	Clemson University (Clemson, SC)
2005	1		FrRnd	13	Orioles	Y	$1,700,000	Brandon Snyder (minors)	C	-0.1	122	200	9	.240	.731							HS	Westfield HS (Chantilly, VA)
2004	1		FrRnd	13	Expos	Y	$1,750,000	Bill Bray (minors)	LHP	2.3	243	1	0	.000	.000	258	13	12	3.74	1.38	3	4Yr	College of William and Mary (Williamsburg, VA)
2003	1		FrRnd	13	Blue Jays	Y	$1,675,000	Aaron Hill (minors)	SS	24.4	1559	5646	162	.266	.740							4Yr	Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, LA)
2002	1		FrRnd	13	Padres	Y	$1,500,000	Khalil Greene (minors)	SS	8.5	736	2567	90	.245	.723							4Yr	Clemson University (Clemson, SC)
2001	1		FrRnd	13	Angels	Y	$2,075,000	Casey Kotchman (minors)	1B	7.5	939	3071	71	.260	.711							HS	Seminole HS (Seminole, FL)
2000

 

The Cavaco pick was unfortunate, but draft mistakes do happen all the time, especially with high school players.  At least 2019 wasn't a complete bust of a draft since the Twins did pretty well in later rounds with Wallner, Steer, Varland, and Julien.

[nicksaviking]

9 hours ago, bean5302 said:

Seemed like a mixed bag on Cavaco at the time of the draft. I was surprised Cavaco got a leash this long. He really has struggled.

Fun to revisit. 

I'm not surprised about the leash as the Twins could have controlled him through the end of the season with no roster or financial implications, so the only motivation to release him was having too many players for too few positions.

Funny, it looks like of the top 30 picks that year (Every team's 1st pick), only seven have failed to reach the majors, which is impressive. Of those seven, Cavaco is only the second to have been released, the 1st being new Twin (minor leaguer) Ryan Jenson.

Shaping up to be a pretty solid draft class with some big names taken after Cavaco. This one will surely be angsty fodder for the hindsight game.

[ashbury]

9 hours ago, bean5302 said:

You insinuating his life is in ruins

LOL, no.

[bean5302]

On 6/18/2024 at 9:47 AM, ashbury said:

LOL, no.

Did you not say "pick up the pieces"? That's a phrase generally used for something devastating which has shattered a person's life. 

If that's not what you intended, I misinterpreted your comment, but you no less misinterpreted mine.