MINNEAPOLIS -- Connor Prielipp’s time came more quickly than anyone could have anticipated. But make no mistake, it’s here.
The Twins’ hard-throwing lefty rookie built on his impressive debut with a second consecutive strong showing, allowing one hit over five innings as Minnesota snapped a five-game skid with an 11-4 win against the Mariners.
In his first home start, just a couple of hours from his hometown of Tomah, Wis., and with plenty of friends and family in attendance, Prielipp recorded his first Major League win. It was a very different challenge from his debut, against the Mets in New York, but on a chilly, rainy night it was a challenge all the same.
“I knew what was at stake [in my final inning], and I was really excited to finish it off," he said.
Prielipp entered Spring Training somewhere around 10th on the starting pitching depth chart. It’s frankly awfully improbable that he’s even in the rotation at this early point in the season. And yet, he continues to make a case that he belongs.
He didn’t allow a hit in the first four innings, retiring 12 of the game’s first 13 batters. A pair of walks to open the fifth put him in a jam, and Seattle pushed across two runs, but the unflappable rookie didn’t let the inning get away from him. A single and a sacrifice fly got the Mariners in the game, but Prielipp finished his outing with a pair of strikeouts before handing the ball to the bullpen.
You can’t manage a game for an individual stat, but make no mistake, manager Derek Shelton wanted Prielipp to finish the fifth and get that first Major League win.
“So much,” Shelton said. “So much. I did not want to have to go get him. With the fact it was 7-0 … that was one of the things I was the most proud of, was the fact he was able to finish it, do a good job and get the two punchouts.”
Over the course of his five innings, the Mariners hit some balls hard but very few of them were threatening. Only two of Seattle’s batted balls had an expected batting average higher than .220.
It wasn’t just the slider, either. All of Prielipp’s offspeed pitches had the Mariners guessing. He got swinging strikeouts on his slider, changeup, and curveball. All while averaging a robust 94.8 miles per hour on his four-seam fastball and 93.9 on his sinker, despite the conditions.
“He throws mid-to-upper 90s,” said catcher Ryan Jeffers. “You have to respect the velo. But he’s going to go out there, he did it in the Mets start and he did it in this start, [he has] the ability to throw a lot of different pitches. It’s something we ask from all of our starters, to be able to throw any pitch in any count.”
When the Twins came to camp in Fort Myers, Fla., in February, their starting pitching depth was the envy of just about every team. They had eight legitimate candidates for five spots, and Prielipp was not even considered to be in that group.
Then Pablo López underwent elbow surgery, and David Festa suffered a shoulder injury. That brought the eight down to six. Zebby Matthews, the odd man out in the competition for five spots, was optioned to Triple-A and scuffled upon his demotion. Andrew Morris, who would have been next in line after Matthews for a starting spot, was instead called up to pitch in relief.
That meant that when Mick Abel came down with elbow inflammation, the call went to Prielipp. And he’s run with the opportunity. Abel has begun playing catch but is not yet throwing off a mound, meaning he’s almost certainly weeks away from a return. And unless something changes drastically, Prielipp will keep pitching in Abel’s spot until he returns.
He maintains a calm, unbothered demeanor that extends beyond the mound to the dugout and even the clubhouse. It’s served him well as he’s tested in a way he never has been before, and continues to pass.
“It’s great,” said Kody Clemens. “His mannerism and stuff, he’s super chill. … It’s just like, not monotone, but he just has no emotion and it shows out there. He goes out there and just competes and that’s kind of what you want.”