Inside The Twins

Zebby Matthews, David Festa sharp for Twins in spring training debuts

Two of the young starters competing for a rotation spot made strong first impressions.

Will Ragatz

Feb 22, 2025; Fort Myers, Florida, USA; Minnesota Twins pitcher Zebby Matthews (52) pitching during the first inning of their game against the Atlanta Braves at Lee Health Sports Complex.
Feb 22, 2025; Fort Myers, Florida, USA; Minnesota Twins pitcher Zebby Matthews (52) pitching during the first inning of their game against the Atlanta Braves at Lee Health Sports Complex. / Chris Tilley-Imagn Images
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Twins spring training action began this weekend, and the big takeaway is that starting pitchers Zebby Matthews and David Festa made strong first impressions in their bids to earn a spot in the team's regular season rotation.

Matthews got the start in Saturday's spring opener, throwing two scoreless innings in a 3-1 victory over the Braves that featured many of Minnesota's big names in the lineup. Festa followed that up with two scoreless innings of his own in Sunday's 5-1 loss to the Pirates. Assuming veteran Chris Paddack gets the fourth spot in the rotation behind Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, and Bailey Ober, Matthews and Festa are competing with presumed favorite Simeon Woods Richardson for the fifth and final slot to open the season.

Matthews was Minnesota's minor league pitcher of the year in 2024, earning three promotions to go from High-A Cedar Rapids to the major leagues. But after dominating at A+ and AA, he struggled at Triple-A St. Paul and then had a 6.69 ERA in nine starts for the Twins — a number that was hurt by three blowup outings, including a nine-run, two-inning mess against the Blue Jays on August 31.

So it was encouraging to see Matthews pitch well on Saturday, even if just for two innings in the first game of the spring. The 24-year-old struck out two batters and was consistently above 97 miles per hour with his fastball in the first inning.

Festa was even more impressive on Sunday. The 6'6" righty posted the same line as Matthews — one hit, two strikeouts, no walks over two scoreless — but generated nine swings and misses on 33 pitches (Matthews earned four whiffs on 31 pitches in his outing). Festa sat around 96-97 MPH with his fastball and appears to have added a sinker this offseason to complement his four-seamer, changeup, and slider.

Last season, Festa posted a 4.90 ERA on 14 starts for the Twins, flashing his big-time stuff with 77 strikeouts in 64.1 innings. He's my personal pick — over Woods Richardson — to make the Opening Day roster as Minnesota's No. 5 starter.

Other notes from Saturday

  • Jhoan Duran's fastball topped out at 98.9 MPH, which is something to watch moving forward this spring. His velocity was down a bit last season from its previous elite heights.
  • Speaking of fastball velocity, Louis Varland (also known as Louie) hit 98 MPH.
  • Twins newcomers Ty France and Harrison Bader picked up their first hits in a Minnesota uniform. The other seven starters in that game (Matt Wallner, Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton, Trevor Larnach, Royce Lewis, Willi Castro, and Christian Vazquez) went a combined 0 for 14, but hey, it's spring training.
  • Stud prospect Luke Keaschall, the Twins' reigning minor league player of the year, delivered the go-ahead hit in the sixth inning.

Other notes from Sunday

  • Eiberson Castellano, the Twins' Rule 5 pick from the Phillies, walked one but struck out the side in the fourth inning, hitting 97.5 MPH with his fastball.
  • Edouard Julien, Jose Miranda, Austin Martin, and DaShawn Keirsey Jr. had hits in a game with no repeat Twins starters from the day before. Keaschall walked and stole a base late.
  • Travis Adams was tagged for four earned runs in the seventh inning as the Pirates pulled away.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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