The Twins are entering a stretch that should tell them plenty about where they stand before the August 3rd trade deadline, and one of the biggest developments may come from the mound this weekend.
After needing 12 innings to earn a split with the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday afternoon, Minnesota now turns to a softer landing spot on paper with the Athletics and Royals up next. Tom Pohlad wants the club positioned to buy, but that kind of move only makes sense if the Twins handle business against the American League’s two worst teams by record. At the same time, the club has had to navigate a bullpen that has been shaky for much of the season and a rotation that has taken hits from injuries.
That’s where Connor Prielipp comes back into the picture.
The rookie left-hander was placed on the 15-day injured list before the All-Star break because of a blister on his left middle finger, but he may be ready to step back into the rotation as soon as Saturday against the Athletics. Dan Hayes of The Athletic reported that Prielipp could be the likely answer for that start, and the Twins brought him to Cleveland to keep a close eye on the blister and his next bullpen session.
Prielipp threw a bullpen Thursday and felt good afterward. He also came through a successful Triple-A rehab start on Sunday, which only strengthened the possibility that he’ll be activated and put back on the mound over the weekend.
His rehab outing for the St. Paul Saints on July 19 was brief but clean: three scoreless innings, no hits allowed, one walk and three strikeouts.
He was on a limited pitch count and threw just 32 pitches, so a full workload on Saturday seems unlikely. Even so, he’s in the mix.
The Twins would not have had Prielipp join them in Cleveland unless they wanted a real look at where he stands. All signs point to the club considering an activation and a start against the Athletics.
Through 13 starts this season, Prielipp has a 5.00 ERA and a 3.89 FIP. The strikeout stuff has been there, with 9.6 K/9, and his walk rate at 3.4 BB/9 and hit rate at 8.9 H/9 are not major red flags. He has also allowed ground balls on 41.5% of batted balls, though that has never really been his calling card.
The bigger issue has been defense. Prielipp has taken some damage from poor support behind him, but overall he has held his own. For a left-hander sitting in the upper-90s, he has been close to what the Twins expected.
He also drew attention earlier this year when Pitch Profiler posted that he “graded out as the best starter yesterday at 118 proPitching+, edging deGrom at 112. DeGrom went 6 clean innings with 6 Ks and got the gem, but Prielipp's process was sharper. Rookie stuff outgrading a legend is a sentence.”
Now the focus shifts to durability. Prielipp is set to reach a new career high in innings this season, and how Minnesota manages that workload may depend on where the team sits in the standings as the year goes on. For now, he’s one of the more important names to watch as the Twins try to steady themselves heading into the deadline.
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