The Minnesota Twins have named Triple-A St. Paul right-handed pitcher Jordan Balazovic and Low-A Fort Myers infielder Keoni Cavaco as the club’s minor league Pitcher and Player of the Week.
Jordan Balazovic was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 5th round of the 2016 MLB June Amateur Draft from St. Martin SS (Mississauga, ON). At one point he was as high as number 3 on the MLB Twins Pipeline but now finds himself at number 15. The soon to be 24 year-old is spending his sixth season in the minors (no minor league ball in 2020).
Balazovic, who turns 24 on Saturday, made two starts for the Saints, going 0-0, 1.00 ERA (9.0 IP, 1 ER) with four walks and 15 strikeouts. Balazovic has had a disappointing 2022 season with his last two starts being arguably the best he has had all season. He started the season on the IL and with the AAA-Saints he has made 18 starts and has an 0-6 record with a 8.16 ERA. In his 18 starts he has pitched 56 innings (3.11 innings per start) and he has given up 89 hits while striking out 61 batters. His last start was the first time he has ever pitched 5 innings in pro ball and he has not thrown as many as 80 pitches in his career. He is relatively young but has to turn things around soon if he wants to be a big league pitcher.
Keoni Cavaco was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 1st round (13th) of the 2019 MLB June Amateur Draft from Eastlake HS (Chula Vista, CA). The 6’2″ right-handed hitting shortstop was signed to a $4.05 million signing bonus. That’s $147,300 below the assigned slot value for the 13th overall selection. Chief baseball officer Derek Falvey said the team watched him 55 times over the last year, led by Southern California scout John Leavitt before drafting him. Cavao is a repeat winner this season.
Cavaco, 21, appeared in four games for the Mighty Mussels, hitting .357 (5-for-14) with two doubles, two home runs, five RBI, a .375 on-base percentage, a .929 slugging percentage and a 1.304 OPS. Cavaco’s slash line in a repeat season at Fort Myers this season is .231/.275/.397. Cavaco needs to kick it in gear if he want to continue playing pro ball. MLB Pipleline had dropped him off the Twins top 30 prospect list.