David

Festa

Festa allowed just four baserunners on a pair of hits and walks, respectively, over five strong frames at historic Wrigley Field. He’s struck out at least six batters in each of his last four appearances and has allowed a total of three runs over his last three appearances spanning 14 1/3 innings of work. He was removed after 82 pitches, and hasn’t completed more than five innings in any of his appearances, which indicates the Twins aren’t going to let him work deep into games moving forward. However, he has strikeout stuff and has been effective over his last three appearances, despite a bloated 5.55 ERA overall. He’s certainly in streaming consideration in mixed leagues now. The 24-year-old rookie right-hander is set to face the Guardians at home this weekend. He’s at least worthy of a speculative roster spot in all fantasy leagues at this juncture.

Festa ran into a bit of self-inflicted trouble in the fourth inning. After walking Brandon Nimmo, a balk, followed by a wild pitch suddenly had Nimmo on third with one out. J.D. Martinez would then single to bring home Nimmo, giving the Mets their first run of the night. Festa would escape the inning with just the one earned run, but allowed a solo homer to Mark Vientos in the next inning. He would be pulled after the fifth inning with just 68 pitches to his name, but had a solid outing overall. After a disastrous 10 innings in his first two appearances of the year, Festa has allowed just three earned runs over the last 9 1/3 innings, striking out 13 batters while walking only three. He’s scheduled to make his next start on Sunday against the White Sox.

Festa authored his strongest performance in the majors yet, entering the contest with one out in the opening frame and carrying a shutout into the fifth inning before serving up a solo homer to Trea Turner, which represented the lone tally against him in this one. The 24-year-old top pitching prospect generated eight swinging strikes on his three-pitch mix and finished with a pedestrian 30 percent CSW. He’s displayed stellar control so far at the highest level and is going to miss enough bats to make an impact for fantasy managers. The biggest question is whether there’s enough room for him in Minnesota’s starting rotation mix, especially if they decide to add at the trade deadline. He’s tentatively scheduled to face the Mets on Tuesday in his next outing and is at least worthy of a speculative roster spot in all fantasy formats until further notice.

Steven Okert will start on Wednesday, but Festa will operate as a bulk reliever after him. The 24-year-old allowed 12 runs on 16 hits with an 8/1 K/BB ratio across 10 innings in a pair of starts after being called up in his first MLB stint; however, he pitched better than the results indicate. With Chris Paddack injured, Festa has the chance to stick in the rotation for a few starts if it goes well. Ronny Henriquez was optioned in a corresponding move.

Okert will make his first start of the year Wednesday, but he’ll likely only pitch the first and maybe not even that, if he can’t retire Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper in the top third of the Phillies order. Festa figures to take over afterwards.

Festa hasn’t pitched since his last start for the Twins a week ago, so he’ll be ready to throw several innings today, if need be. The Twins, though, would probably prefer not to need him, unless it’s to pitch the final couple of innings with a seven-run lead.

Festa heads back to the minors after allowing a whopping 12 runs on 16 hits with an 8/1 K/BB ratio across 10 innings in a pair of starts after being called up. The 24-year-old top pitching prospect will head back to Triple-A for some additional seasoning, but he’s certainly talented enough to make a tangible impact for fantasy managers at some point in the near future.

On the plus side for fantasy managers, Festa piled up six strikeouts on the night and didn’t walk a batter. His trouble in this one came from his inability to keep the ball in the yard as he served up a grand slam to Carson Kelly in the third inning, a solo shot to Wenceel Perez in the third and a two-run blast off the bat of Riley Greene in the fifth. Festa got 13 swings and misses on 81 pitches in the ballgame, registering a CSW of 32 percent. He’ll look to bounce back as he carries an uninspiring 10.80 ERA, 1.70 WHIP and an 8/1 K/BB ratio (10 innings) into Monday’s matchup against the White Sox in Chicago.

Festa wasn’t particularly effective, but he was good enough to pick up a win in his first MLB start; mainly thanks to 13 runs of support behind him. The 24-year-old allowed seven hits — including a homer to Ketel Marte — with a walk and two strikeouts. Festa is considered one of the better pitching prospects in the Minnesota system, but will need to pitch better going forward to justify any sort of fantasy significance in 2024.

Henriquez was called up on Tuesday to take Chris Paddack’s spot on the roster and will now head back down with David Festa being called up. The right-hander has thrown three scoreless innings for the Twins so far this season and will likely be back up again later this season.