PHOENIX – Twins pitching prospect David Festawho has one of the highest strikeout rates in the minor leagues, will make his major league debut Thursday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Festa, 24, was informed he will be recalled and added to the 40-man roster to start Thursday’s series finale at Chase Field, the Star Tribune has learned. Festa, a right-hander, is last in the Twins’ rotation, at least temporarily, after Chris Paddack He was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday.
The 6-foot-6, 185-pound Festa has posted a 3-2 record and a 3.77 ERA in 14 starts with 87 strikeouts and 24 walks in 59⅔ innings.
“When I saw him, he was guaranteed 10 hits,” the Twins utility man said. Austin Martin. “I haven’t really been able to be around him much, but from the outings I’ve seen, he’s got enough. Every time he goes out, he competes. He takes everything very seriously. He’s very meticulous with his work. He has a good pitcher’s mentality. “When he’s on the mound, you can feel his presence.”
Festa, who did not arrive at the Twins’ clubhouse before Wednesday’s game, started this spring in major league camp, although he did not pitch in any major league spring training games. The Verona, New Jersey, native emerged as arguably the organization’s top pitching prospect after the Twins selected him in the 13th round of the 2021 amateur Draft. He represented the Twins in the MLB Futures Game last summer.
He was initially destined to play college baseball as an infielder until a late growth spurt brought him to the mound in his senior year of high school. He spent three seasons at Seton Hall and has continued to gain speed almost every year in professional baseball.
In his last start with the Saints, last Thursday, he gave up six hits and four runs in 5 and two-thirds innings without walks and with six strikeouts. He has had success this year by relying on his slider and changeup to generate swings and misses while his fastball sits between 95 and 96 mph.
“Every time I see him pitch, he always strikes them out or makes them look uncomfortable in some other way.” Royce Lewis saying. “I’m very excited to see him pitch.”
The Twins already have an open spot on their 40-man roster.
Jeffers recovering
ryan jefferswho entered Wednesday on a six-game hitting streak, believes he’s back to his best offensive self after a slump for about a month.
Jeffers was one of the majors’ top offensive catchers through the first six weeks of the season, then went on a 25-game stretch in which he hit .145 with four homers, seven RBIs and 29 strikeouts in 83 at-bats.
“Something I’ve been trying to do really well over the last week is treating every (at-bat) like it’s a spring training day,” he said. “In spring training, you’re so focused on the process. You’re so focused on the plan. ‘Hey, did I have a good at-bat? Did I swing at the right pitches?’ I really try to put the responsibility on myself, and on top of that, do the work and get back to where I was the first month. I feel like I’m back to being that guy.”
Jeffers looks more balanced at the plate, totaling one strikeout in 26 plate appearances during his hitting streak. He hit a game-tying three-run homer in Tuesday’s 5-4 loss, his first homer since May 30, and had a very good lineout for the final out of the game.
What caused your fall?
“It was just a lot of different things,” Jeffers said. “I got stuck in the middle. I wasn’t attacking. There were so many things I was doing really well at the beginning of the year that I just started not doing them well.”
Etc.
* It has been a hot stretch during Byron Buxton, entering Wednesday with a .346 batting average, eight extra-base hits and 10 RBIs in his last 14 games, but continues to bat seventh in the Twins’ lineup. Manager Rocco Baldelli He says he’s contemplating moving him up the batting order, but “it’s not something I want to do. As soon as a guy starts swinging well, you immediately have to move him to a different spot in the lineup. I think our lineup has good depth at this moment.”
* Yunior Severino He had three hits and two RBIs, Lee Brooks He homered for the fifth time in his last seven games and the St. Paul Saints won 9-7 on the road against the Iowa Cubs on Wednesday. Edouard Julien He drew three walks and scored twice.
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