Minnesota Twins Prospect Retrospective: Aaron Sabato

There was a time when Aaron Sabato had one of the biggest offensive upsides in the Minnesota Twins organization. The Twins selected Sabato 27th overall in the 2020 MLB Draft out of the University of North Carolina, betting on a powerful college bat that had produced at one of the highest levels of amateur baseball.

The COVID-19 pandemic wiped out his first opportunity to play professionally, but Sabato finally began his climb through the organization in 2021.The journey did not go exactly as planned. There were plenty of home runs and walks along the way, but Sabato also struggled with strikeouts and consistency. His prospect stock declined as he moved through the system, eventually taking him from one of the organization's top prospects to a player fighting simply to get back onto the major league radar.

Now, over six years after the Twins drafted him, Sabato is finally getting his chance. Minnesota selected his contract from Triple-A St. Paul on Monday, September 21, giving the 27-year-old his first opportunity in the major leagues. Here's how Sabato's journey unfolded year by year.

2020: Drafted in the First Round

Sabato entered the 2020 MLB Draft after a standout career at North Carolina. In his abbreviated 2020 college season, Sabato hit .292/.478/.708 (1.149) with seven home runs and 18 RBI in just 19 games. The year before, he had hit .343/.453/.696 (1.185) with 18 home runs and 63 RBI.

The Twins selected him at the end of the first round. There was plenty to like about the profile. Sabato possessed significant raw power, a strong understanding of the strike zone and experience playing first base against quality college competition. But the 2020 season was unlike any other. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the minor league season was canceled. Sabato had to wait until the following year to begin his professional career.

2021: The Professional Debut

Sabato's first professional season provided both reasons for optimism and some early warning signs. He split the year between Low-A Fort Myers and High-A Cedar Rapids, appearing in 107 games. Overall, he hit .202/.373/.410 (.783) with 19 home runs and a 121 wRC+.

The batting average was difficult to overlook, but neither was the plate discipline. Sabato walked 19.8% of the time and showed the power that made him a first-round selection. His 32.1% strikeout rate was also tough to ignore as he was older than the average age of the competition at Low-A, where he played the majority of the season. 

His transition to Cedar Rapids was particularly encouraging. In 22 games with the Kernels, Sabato hit .253/.402/.613 with eight home runs and 15 RBI. That translated to a 1.015 OPS over his brief time at the higher level. The Twins still had a young first baseman with considerable power and patience. The question was whether he could make enough contact to turn those tools into consistent production.

2022: More Power, Same Questions

Sabato returned to Cedar Rapids to begin the 2022 season and continued to show the power that had made him a first-round pick. He hit 17 home runs with the Kernels and posted a .799 OPS across 80 games. Overall, Sabato played 103 games between Cedar Rapids and Double-A Wichita. He hit .215/.336/.438 (.774) with 22 home runs and 75 RBI. The power was still there. So were the strikeouts. Sabato had a 31.8 K% and a 13.2 BB%. 

His promotion to Double-A also exposed some of the challenges that would follow him throughout his development. In 23 games with Wichita, he hit just .179/.283/.405 (.688). The Twins had a hitter who could change a game with one swing, but getting him to consistently make contact against more advanced pitching remained the major developmental hurdle.

2023: Double-A Reality Check

Sabato spent the entire 2023 season with Wichita, giving him his first extended opportunity to settle into Double-A baseball.  The results were mixed. He played 77 games and hit .221/.329/.430 (.759) with 12 home runs, 45 RBI and 19 doubles. The 12 home runs were still evidence of the power in his bat, but the overall offensive production wasn't enough to push him toward the upper levels of the organization. Sabato also struck out 101 times in 319 plate appearances (32.3 K%).

At this point, the narrative around the former first-round pick had changed. The question was no longer whether Sabato possessed enough power to play professionally. He clearly did. Instead, the organization needed to determine whether his approach would allow that power to translate against major league-caliber pitching.

2024: A Step Back

The 2024 season was arguably the most difficult stretch of Sabato's professional career. He returned to Double-A Wichita, appearing in 85 games. Sabato hit just .206/.303/.350 (.653) with 10 home runs and an 83 wRC+. His .644 OPS was a significant step backward from the production he had shown earlier in his career.

The power that had once been Sabato's calling card wasn't showing up with the same frequency, and his overall offensive profile left him fighting for relevance within a deepening Twins farm system. For a player drafted in the first round just four years earlier, it was a difficult position. But Sabato wasn't finished.

2025: The Turning Point

Something changed in 2025. Sabato split time between Double- and Triple-A, and his offensive production finally started moving back in the right direction. Across 109 games, he hit .261/.327/.481 (.809) with 23 home runs, 18 doubles and a 112 wRC+. His .808 OPS represented a significant improvement from the previous season. More importantly, the home-run power returned. Sabato's 23 homers were his highest total since 2022, while his .261 batting average was easily the best mark of his professional career to that point.

He wasn't suddenly viewed as the same prospect he had been after being drafted, but he had established himself as a productive minor league hitter again. That set the stage for 2026.

2026: The Breakthrough

Sabato's 2026 campaign in the minor leagues became the strongest argument yet that he deserved another look. Playing 113 games for St. Paul, Sabato hit .273/.349/.528 (.877)  with 29 doubles, 25 home runs, and a 121 wRC+.  His .877 OPS was easily the highest of his minor league career.

Sabato also made some history along the way. On September 11, he hit his 29th double of the season, establishing a new single-season record for the St. Paul Saints. His 25 home runs also tied the franchise's single-season record at the Triple-A level. That production finally forced his way into the major league conversation.

Sabato's path to the major leagues is considerably different from what many expected when the Twins selected him in the first round. He entered the organization with a reputation as one of the better power hitters in the 2020 draft class. Instead of quickly climbing toward the majors, he spent six seasons battling through inconsistent production and a strikeout-heavy offensive profile.

Sabato kept working his way through the organization. After his production dipped significantly in 2024, he responded with a strong 2025 season and an even better 2026 campaign. Now he gets the reward. Six years after Minnesota called his name in the first round, Sabato has finally reached the destination.

The prospect journey is over. Now the major league chapter begins.

What stands out about Sabato’s minor league career? Leave a comment and start the discussion.

Do you approve of the job Derek Shelton is doing as Twins manager?

Do you approve of the job Derek Shelton is doing as Twins manager?

• Do you approve of the job Derek Shelton is doing as Twins manager? Required
  

  
• Save

See All Twins Polls >

Interested in learning more about the Minnesota Twins' top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!