Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN – The Minnesota Twins announced today the signing of their first round pick, infielder Aaron Sabato from the University of North Carolina, whom they selected with the 27th overall pick in the 2020 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. 

The 6-foot-1, 235-pound first baseman set a North Carolina freshman record for home runs in a season with 18 in 2019 (the eighth-most ever by any UNC player). Sabato also led the team in batting average (.343), hits (79), doubles (25), RBI (63) and slugging percentage (.696), while posting an OPS of 1.149. He had 44 extra-base hits, which tied for the second-highest single-season total in Tar Heels history, matching Kyle Seager (2008) and Dustin Ackley (2009).

Sabato, 21, was also named 2019 Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Co-National Freshman of the Year, First Team All-American and Freshman All-American; Baseball America and D1Baseball First Team Freshman All-American and Third Team All-American; NCBWA National Freshman Hitter of the Year; ABCA/Rawlings First Team All-American; Perfect Game First Team Freshman All-American; ACC Freshman of the Year and First Team All-ACC.

He was hitting .292 (19-for-65) with six doubles, seven home runs, 18 RBI, 20 runs scored, 22 walks and a .478 on-base percentage in 19 games as a sophomore for the Tar Heels before the 2020 season was shortened due to COVID-19.

Sabato was ranked as the 41st-best prospect in the 2020 Draft by MLB.com and 35th by Baseball America. The Rye Brook, NY native attended the Brunswick School in Greenwich, CT where he was ranked as the fourth-best player in the state and the 35th-best shortstop in the country by Perfect Game. His father played baseball at Mercy College, while his brother, Teddy, was on the UNC baseball roster in 2017 and currently plays at Manhattan College.