At 73-83 the Minnesota Twins are only showing up to play out the string, They aren’t making the postseason, and are coming off a series split against one of baseball’s worst teams in the Los Angeles Angels. Staying out in California to start the week, they’ll play the San Francisco Giants for a three-game stretch.
Plenty of the kids have been promoted already this season. Walker Jenkins, Kaelen Culpepper, and Emmanuel Rodriguez are the most notable among them. In total the Twins have rolled out 12 different rookies this season. They’ll add another one to the ledger on Monday night.
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Picked 27th overall in 2020, Aaron Sabato is now headed to the majors.
Aaron Sabato headed for Minnesota Twins debut
The Minnesota Twins went on a stretch of grabbing college bats early in the draft, and Aaron Sabato was the embodiment of that. A slugger out of North Carolina, he was a bit-first (and maybe bat-only) prospect. Now after six minor league seasons, he’s earned a shot with the big league club.
Few yrs ago, I was in The Fort early & talked w/ Aaron Sabato, Twins’ 2020 first-rounder.
A team “source” told me: “I wouldn’t make the article too optimistic. Nice guy, but if he doesn’t pick it up when over in minors camp, he could get cut.”
Monday, Aaron will be w/ Twins.— Patrick Reusse (@Patrick_Reusse) September 21, 2026
The path to the big leagues for Sabato was always going to be thread through a needle. As a defender, he’s below average at first base so the bat absolutely had to play. He showed immense power at North Carolina, and that quickly translated to 19 home runs during his first professional season.
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What also came from the college profile was an immense amount of swing and miss. Sabato struck out 149 and 142 times respectively across his first two seasons on the farm. He had a strong showing in the Arizona Fall League back in 2023, but still piled up strikeouts.
After a rough 2024, Sabato trended upwards with an .809 OPS in 2025 and finished the year at Triple-A. Across 113 games for the Saints this season, the slugger batted .273 with an .877 OPS. His 25 home runs set a single-season record for St. Paul, and was a new career-high for him as well.
There should still be plenty of concern about the viability of a guy carrying a 25.3% strikeout rate at Triple-A. However, he more than earned the opportunity to see what he can make happen.
MN Twins have eye on 2027
While it’s certainly questionable as to whether there will be baseball in 2027 or not, the Minnesota Twins chances to compete are in the year ahead. They have a strong group of young talent that emerged this season, and need to supplement them with competent additions.
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Sabato won’t factor into the 2027 plans based on a week’s worth of games. What he can do though, at least if he is given some opportunity, is to take this information and build his offseason around it. Sabato isn’t ever going to be a contact hitter, but if he can make tweaks after understanding what it takes at the next level, then there might be something here.
Adding Sabato to the 40-man roster gives him an inside track for 2027, at least until offseason moves start taking place. He has previously been passed over for an addition prior to the Rule 5 Draft, but will now be protected if the MN Twins hold course.
The roster has been mismanaged all season by both Jeremy Zoll and Derek Shelton. Sabato holding a bench spot to provide pop brings significantly more value than a third catcher that doesn’t play for weeks at a time. If he can substantiate that belief going forward, then the Twins will have made use of a former first round pick.
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