Keoni Kealakekua Cavaco (born June 2, 2001) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

organization. He was drafted by the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

as an

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

in the first round of the

2019 MLB draft The 2019 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 3 to 5, 2019. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2018 MLB season standings. In additi ...

Career

Amateur

Cavaco attended Eastlake High School in

Chula Vista, California Chula Vista (; ) is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the Largest cities in Southern California, seventh largest city in Southern California, the List of largest California cities by population, fifteenth largest city ...

. In 2019, his senior year, he hit .433 with eight home runs and 16 steals along with pitching to a 0.67 ERA. He committed to play college baseball at San Diego State University.

Minnesota Twins

Cavaco was drafted by the

in the first round with the 13th overall selection of the

2019 Major League Baseball draft The 2019 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 3 to 5, 2019. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2018 MLB season standings. In additi ...

. He signed for $4.05 million. After signing, he was assigned to the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Twins with whom he spent all of his first professional season. Over 25 games, he hit .172 with one home run and six RBI. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the 2021 season, Cavaco was assigned to the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels of the Low-A Southeast, slashing .233/.296/.301 with two home runs and 24 RBI over sixty games. He returned to Fort Myers for the 2022 season. Over 99 games, he hit .231 with 11 home runs and 59 RBI. Cavaco spent the 2023 campaign with the High–A Cedar Rapids Kernels, also making four appearances for the FCL Twins. In 59 games with Cedar Rapids, he batted .193/.266/.287 with five home runs and 14 RBI. Cavaco returned to Cedar Rapids in 2024, and struggled to a .144/.202/.327 batting line with four home runs and 13 RBI across 34 games. Cavaco was released by the Twins organization on June 17, 2024.

Houston Astros

On June 26, 2024, Cavaco signed a minor league contract with the

. He was subsequently assigned to the rookie–level Florida Complex League Astros, where he was converted into a pitcher.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cavaco, Keoni 2001 births Living people Cedar Rapids Kernels players Florida Complex League Astros players Florida Complex League Twins players Fort Myers Mighty Mussels players Gulf Coast Twins players Minor league baseball players