BREAKING: This forgotten Twins prospect finally proving why he was a first-round pick

Twins prospect Aaron Sabato is finally playing like a first-round pick

Sabato, who the Twins selected with the 27th overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft out of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, earned a promotion to Triple-A St. Paul on Friday after slashing .305/.399/.574 with nine home runs, 11 doubles and 26 RBIs in 163 plate appearances for Double-A Wichita this season.

Sabato ranked as the Twins’ No. 7 prospect in 2021 and No. 16 in 2022 before falling out of the top 30 in 2023, per MLB Pipeline.

Sabato dominated in his time as a Tar Heel, posting a .332/.459/.698 batting line with 25 homers, 31 doubles and 81 RBIs in 368 plate appearances from 2019-20. He quickly learned success is harder to find at the professional level than college ball, failing to make it past Double-A until this year while enduring multiple stints on the injured list. Across parts of five minor league seasons, Sabato has hit .217/.343/.416 with 72 homers in 1793 plate appearances.

Should the Twins promote Sabato to the major leagues?

Sabato is already 26, so the Twins likely don’t want to keep him in the minor leagues for much longer, whether they plan to eventually promote him or cut him loose. With how well he is currently performing, the Twins certainly wouldn’t want to part ways with him quite yet, since his trade value likely doesn’t surpass his potential to produce at the big-league level. Therefore, it makes sense to find a way to place him on the major league roster if there is room.

However, Sabato is a first baseman, a position currently held by Ty France. Trevor Larnach frequently serves as the designated hitter, and Luke Keaschall will be back at some point and likely will also play as the designated hitter for a decent amount of time. So, there likely isn’t much space on the Twins for Sabato to get consistent playing time.

The Twins probably shouldn’t promote Sabato quite yet, but if the team suffers a dramatic drop-off from playoff contention, it’s possible that the Twins could trade France and utilize Sabato as their primary first baseman. Hopefully, that scenario doesn’t happen, but it very likely could.

If Minnesota continues to stay in playoff contention, and Sabato continues to dominate minor league pitching, then the Twins could trade him at the end of the season or use him as their first baseman next year if the team doesn’t have the financial ability to sign a proven MLB first baseman.