With Chris Paddack on the injured list, the Twins are expected to promote one of their best prospects, and arguably their best pitching prospect to fill the void. It’s been reported that David Festa, who is second in the Pacific Coast League in strikeouts (87), will make his MLB debut tomorrow against the Diamondbacks. Here’s a look at what Twins pitcher David Festa has been up to in the Minors.
A Look at Festa
The Twins have been highly active in scouting the Northeast college scene, as Minnesota’s had several picks over the last six years from schools like Maine, St. John’s, UConn, and Seton Hall. One of those picks was David Festa, a Seton Hall product, who turned into a hidden gem after the Twins selected him in the 13th round in 2021.
A 6’6” right-hander, Festa put up passable numbers in his first two seasons with the Pirates before a strong 2021 campaign. Festa struck out 67 over 72 innings in his draft year before his prospect stock exploded in the Minor Leagues.
The 24-year-old struck out 108 over 103.2 innings in 2022 across Low-A and High-A and owned a stellar 2.43 ERA. His strikeout numbers ticked up in 2023 again, as he netted 119 over 92.1 IP (11.6 K/9) while also seeing his walk rate jump. This season with St. Paul (AAA), Festa struck out an eye-popping 87 batters over 59.2 IP.
Festa wasn’t a hard thrower in Seton Hall but that changed once going pro. After sitting in the low 90s, Festa can regularly hit 95-96 MPH with his four-seamer, a pitch he can pound up with a delivery that looks like a lot of arms and legs coming at a hitter. And, it has high carry; an average of 19.3” IVB with the Saints, well above average.
Festa will mix his fastball with a hard slider that sits in the 86-87 MPH range, a changeup, and a seldom-used curveball. The result? A lot of whiffs down in the zone.
MLB.com rated David Festa the fifth-best prospect in the Twins organization and the best pitcher. David Festa’s promotion was first reported by the Star Tribune.
Analysis
Right-hander Chris Paddack recently hit the IL amidst a dead arm, giving Festa his first crack at the MLB level.
He’ll join a good Twins rotation, one that’s received strong contributions yet again from Joe Ryan and youngster Simeon Woods Richardson. Pablo Lopez owns a 5.11 ERA (3.97 FIP, 3.27 xERA), yet advanced analytics, including how many whiffs and hard-hit contact he’s yielded, infer he’s been somewhat unlucky.
It’ll be interesting to see how Festa commands at the MLB level, particularly since walks have been a past problem. His 3.6 BB/9 at Triple-A wasn’t particularly bad but that could tick up with more disciplined hitters. However, his stuff is very good, and handled Triple-A hitters efficiently.
Fantasy Outlook
We noted David Festa could be a solid option in fantasy baseball, as early as April. The 24-year-old has good swing-and-miss stuff and while the walks can be a problem for him at times, there’s more than enough for him to be an impact starter for fantasy owners.