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Minnesota Twins' Top Prospect Turns in Record-Breaking Performance Down on the Farm

Minnesota Twins' top pitching prospect David Festa, who is predicted to make his Major League debut in 2024, turned in a record-breaking performance at Triple-A St. Paul on Tuesday.

Brady Farkas

Jul 8, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; American League Futures pitcher David Festa (48) of the
Jul 8, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; American League Futures pitcher David Festa (48) of the / Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports
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Minnesota Twins' No. 5 overall prospect David Festa turned in a record-breaking performance on Tuesday at Triple-A St. Paul.

Per @TwinsPlayerDev on social media:

David Festa delivered an absolute gem today in his sixth start of the season

5 IP / 3 H / 2 R / 1 BB / 10 K

His 10 strikeouts were the most of any Twins @MILB pitcher this season…he also tied the @StPaulSaints franchise record for strikeouts in a game

Festa, 24, pitched in the Futures Game last season and was a 2021 draft pick of the Twins. He was a 13th-round pick and has matriculated up to the organization's No. 1 pitching prospect at this time. MLB.com lists his possible debut date as this season.

The following comes from a portion of his MLB.com prospect profile:

A 6-foot-6 right-hander, Festa has three at least above-average pitches in his arsenal. A fastball that sat 91 mph in college averaged nearly 95 mph in 2023 and touched 98. His slider now averages 87 mph, registers high spin rates and misses a good amount of bats (41 percent miss rate last year), while his mid-80s changeup has also been a very good pitch for him. When Festa first entered pro ball, he had two breaking balls that blurred into each other; the slider has taken a step forward and he's continued to develop a true slower curve that he can land in the zone early and use against lefties.

At the Major League level, the Twins have won nine games in a row after beating the White Sox on Tuesday.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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