Twenty-five-year-old pitcher Connor Prielipp is ready to make his bow in the Majors, as the Twins officially promoted him on April 22 and stuck him in the rotation. The move comes after what’s been a strong past year for a left-hander who didn’t pitch much as a pro until 2025.
A Look at Prielipp
The Twins have raided Alabama University in recent years. Last season, Minnesota drafted Riley Quick in the first round. But four years ago, the Twins picked up Connor Prielipp in the second round.
He only made 11 starts in the Twins’ farm system between 2023 and 2024, spending most of those seasons on the IL. However, he was very good when healthy. Prielipp struck out 41 over 23 frames in 2024, a year before a stable 2025 season between Double-A and Triple-A.
Prelipp struck out 73 over 61 innings for Wichita last season and posted a swing-and-miss rate above 30%. Walks bit him in Triple-A late last season, and that has been somewhat true again in 2026. The lefty, though, still pitched well with 22 strikeouts over 15 innings.
Prielipp didn’t net a lot of chase (28.67% Chase%) in the zone but a lot of overall swing-and-miss. Among the 163 pitchers who had at least 90 swings induced on them in Triple-A, Prielipp was 20th overall (33.3%) in that category.
His fastball was consistently 95-97 MPH, capping out at 98 MPH with St. Paul. Four-seamer has cut to it, and Prielipp will pair with both a sinker and a changeup that sat roughly 10 MPH off the four-seamer.
Prielipp’s slider has been the big weapon to get swing-and-miss. A 43.3% Whiff% on a pitch that sat anywhere from 86 to 90 MPH.
Overall, he did a good job of limiting the walks, even though the BB/9 (4.6) was higher in Triple-A this season. Stable delivery, keeping the front shoulder tight. He posted a 3.4 BB/9 last season and a sub-3.0 rate two years ago.
Analysis
Prielipp is part of the next wave of Twins’ pitching talent, a wave we’ve seen over the last few weeks. Mick Abel, who went on the IL and will be replaced in the interim by Prielipp, has thrown well over the first few weeks. Andrew Morris made his MLB debut earlier this season, and Marco Raya is still around, as well.
Plus, Ryan Gallagher and Kendry Rojas, both of whom were acquired in midseason trades last July. Rojas was recalled for the first time this week by the Twins.
For comparison’s sake, Prielipp seems like the better bet to be a starter long-term than Rojas. Rojas’ stuff, on paper, could play very well out of the bullpen. But the bigger hang-up is that Rojas is a three-pitch pitcher. In this day and age, someone like Prielipp profiles better as a starter.
A five-pitch pitcher with a four-seamer and sinker to work all quadrants, as well as a changeup and two breaking balls, those kinds of pitchers profile well in the world of MLB today.
The Twins will get a good look at a lefty who was protected from the 40-man roster last November.
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