Twins top pitching prospect David Festa to make MLB debut Thursday

PHOENIX – Twins pitching prospect David Festa, who has one of the highest strikeout rates in the minor leagues, is set to make his major league debut Thursday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Festa, 24, was informed he will be called up and added to the 40-man roster to start Thursday’s series finale at Chase Field, the Star Tribune learned. Festa, a righthander, fills the final spot in the Twins’ rotation, at least temporarily, after Chris Paddack was placed on the 15-day injured list Tuesday.

The 6-6, 185-pound Festa emerged as arguably the top pitching prospect in the Twins’ farm system. Pitching for the Class AAA St. Paul Saints, Festa has posted a 3-2 record and a 3.77 ERA through 14 starts with 87 strikeouts and 24 walks in 59⅔ innings.

Festa started this spring in big-league camp, though he didn’t pitch in any big-league spring training games. The native of Verona, N.J., planned to play college baseball as an infielder. He didn’t spend time as a pitcher until his senior year of high school. After three seasons at Seton Hall, the Twins took him in the 13th round of the amateur draft in 2021.

Festa pitched in the MLB Futures Game last summer

In his last start with the Saints, last Thursday, he yielded six hits and four runs in 5⅔ innings with no walks and six strikeouts. He’s had success this year relying on his slider and his changeup to generate swings and misses while his fastball sits around 95-96 mph.

The Twins already have an open spot on their 40-man roster.