The Minnesota Twins reinstated right-hander Joe Ryan from the injured list after a month-long stint on Monday. Ryan made the start for Minnesota in the series opener against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits and one walk with seven strikeouts over four innings. Ryan threw just 66 pitches.
Left-hander Connor Prielipp piggybacked Ryan on Monday, signaling a new role change for the southpaw. Prielipp allowed two earned runs on five hits and no walks with five strikeouts over four innings as the Tigers won 5-4. Prielipp threw 68 pitches.
Moving Connor Prielipp to relief role for rest of season makes sense for Twins
It appears that Prielipp will be a bulk reliever for the rest of the season. The southpaw has absolutely shattered his personal innings record this year, recording 126 2/3 innings between the majors and Triple-A. Last year, he threw 82 2/3 innings in the minors, which was the most he had thrown in a season at the time. Before 2025, Prielipp threw just 28 innings in college and 30 in the minors due to various injuries.
Besides a 10-day IL stint due to a left middle finger blister, Prielipp has been healthy all season. His first year in the big leagues hasn't been great, as the left-hander has posted a 5.25 ERA over 108 innings. However, there are reasons to believe he will be much better going forward. Prielipp has a solid strikeout rate of 24.8% (67th percentile) and a ground-ball rate of 44% (61st percentile). He also has an expected ERA of 4.12, which isn't amazing, but it's over a run better than his actual ERA. With time, Prielipp, who had been the Twins' top pitching prospect for years, should become a much better starter.
For now, it makes sense for Prielipp to be in a bullpen role where he won't have to throw 80+ pitches per start. Next year, he will be more prepared to throw 100+ innings. And if there's a lockout that extends through the regular season, Prielipp may not even have to pitch that many innings.
Assuming Prielipp will be in the bullpen for the remainder of the year, here's how the Twins' rotation looks now that Ryan is back:
- Joe Ryan
- Dean Kremer
- Zebby Matthews
- Taj Bradley
- Bailey Ober
Moving Prielipp to the bullpen especially makes sense now that the Twins are very unlikely to reach the playoffs. Minnesota is 4 1/2 games behind Cleveland for the final AL Wild Card spot. The Twins could still go on a surprise run, but for now, preparing the young talent for the 2027 season should probably be the team's primary focus. There's no reason to overuse Prielipp right now. And if the Twins do somehow make the playoffs, Prielipp could be an effective bullpen arm in October.
Add us as a preferred source on Google