Cavanaugh played two seasons at Eastern Florida State JC before transferring to NCAA Division II Florida Southern and becoming a 17th-round pick in 2023. Signed for just $50,000, he barely played in his first full year as a pro before opening eyes by hitting 14 homers and providing strong defense in his second. Putting up the best offensive numbers of his career allowed him to move from Double-A to Triple-A to San Francisco in the first two months of this season.
Cavanaugh stands out most with his work behind the plate. He has solid receiving, blocking and framing skills to go with plus arm strength. The Giants called him up a month after trading Patrick Bailey to the Guardians and Cavanaugh immediately became their best defensive catcher.
How much Cavanaugh produces offensively will determine whether he's a regular or a backup. His strength is more notable than the bat speed in his left-handed swing, and he has trouble catching up to good velocity. He has a disciplined approach and is doing a better job of making in-zone contact this year. He's a well-below-average runner but will pick his spots to steal a base.
These run values are leveraged, meaning the base/out situation at the time of the event does impact the run value (thus introducing context outside the batter's own contribution).
Note: xHR tells how many of this player's batted balls would have been out of other stadiums. The "Adjusted" view here accounts for different wall heights, distances and environmental effects using Statcast Park Factor data.
Standard
Year
HR
2026
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
1
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Player
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
1
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Note: xHR tells how many of this player's batted balls would have been out of other stadiums. The "Standard" view here accounts for different wall heights and distances but excludes environmental effects. It is based purely on the observed trajectory of the hit.
! Note: Shifts are through the 2022 season, Shaded starting from the 2023 season, Shift: three or more infielders are on the same side of second base, Shade: positioned outside of their typical responsible slices of the field. Learn more about how positioning is defined here