KC Royals: Notable picks by divisional opponents in 2019 MLB Draft
By Cullen Jekel
Minnesota Twins
Round 1, Pick No. 13: Keoni Cavaco, Shortstop, Eastlake (Calif.) High School
With the first of two picks in the top 40 spots, the Minnesota Twins selected Keoni Cavaco, a 6-foot-2 high-school shortstop who just turned 18 a day before the draft. About a week ago, the Twins and Cavaco agreed on a deal with a signing bonus of just over $4 million to keep Cavaco from attending San Diego State.
Talk about a helluva birthday.
Cavaco may end up moving to third base down the line, but wherever he plays, he should display prodigious power. His speed is a concern and his contact only rates 45 on the 20-80 scale. Still, he’s only 18. While the speed may not come, the contact should.
At pick 39, the Twins selected Southern Miss outfielder Matt Wallner. Wallner, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound lefty, mashed his entire time with the Golden Eagles. As a freshman, he slugged .655 with 19 homers.
Those numbers dipped a bit his sophomore season, as he finished at .618 with 18 home runs, but he set career highs his junior year with .681 slugging percentage and 23 home runs. Overall in 2019, he slashed .323/.446/.681 for a 1.127 OPS. Wallner finished his college career with more runs batted in (190) than games played (189).
Cool story with former Forest Lake HS star @Matt_Wallner going to the hometown #MNTwins. Know some folks in Falmouth with the Cape Cod League who loved watching him play, following in the footsteps of Twins 2018 1st pick Trevor Larnach. pic.twitter.com/YvwcsOcx5V
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) June 4, 2019
He has yet to sign, but I imagine the Twins and Wallner will reach a deal for somewhere very close, if not exceeding, the slot bonus of $1.91 million.