Presently things are going about as poorly as they can for the Minnesota Twins, which is all the more reason to start glimpsing at the horizon to see how bright the future is.
Of course, Twins fans have been conditioned to do that over the last few decades.
What fans will see, though, is a some potential relief to what is currently bogging the team down. There's no question that Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan are locked in as the top two pitchers in the starting rotation, but the question is what will things look like after them?
It's unfortunately the same question we were all wondering back in Spring Training and it never got answered. One of the potential fits might be starting to come back around as an option, as No. 4 prospect David Festa continues to light things up in the minors and seems to be on track to potentially getting into the mix in the near future.
David Festa could be working his way into the Twins starting rotation soon
It's still a small sample size, but everything we're seeing out of David Festa so far at Triple-A is exactly the sort of thing the Twins rotation needs. Specifically, his latest start for the Saints should start causing some waves in the front office.
David Festa, our top pitching prospect by @MLBPipeline, was solid for the @StPaulSaints in his start today💥
— Twins Player Development (@TwinsPlayerDev) April 17, 2024
4 IP / 2 H / 0 R / 2 BB / 5 K
So far through 4 starts in AAA, Festa has a 1.46 ERA‼️#MNTwins pic.twitter.com/81tSOXw2HH
It was looking like he might steal an Opening Day roster spot earlier in Spring Training, although he was a dark horse candidate at best. Still, he started to show that he had what it took to at least be in that conversation and he's only gotten better with his work in St. Paul.
Festa worked 30 innings and posted a 2.40 ERA and a 35 percent strikeout rate between July and September last year, which was his follow up to striking out 108 batters in 103 2/3 innings back in 2022.
So far this season he's posted a 1.46 ERA in four starts with 15 strikeouts and a 1.70 WHIP. He's only averaging around three innings per start, which is a bit of a red flag but he's absolutely on the right track.
It's unlikely that he'll get called up anytime soon, and he's not even on the 40-man roster yet, but we might not be far off from that changing. If he can keep working on developing his longevity, there's no reason he shouldn't be in the conversation for the No. 5 starter role if Louie Varland continues to struggle.
Perhaps he's even in the conversation as part of the bullpen if all continues to go well for him at St. Paul, but ideally he tracks as a fifth starter if he gets called up. Either way, it could quickly become a when not if situation as far as when we see the Twins top pitching prospect get some looks in the majors.