St. Paul – Everyone always knew what Connor Prielipp was capable of when the Twins took him in the second round of the 2022 draft. A hard-throwing lefty at the University of Alabama with a devastating slider to mix into counts, what team wouldn’t want an arm like his?
Well, there’s a reason he was taken 48th overall and passed over by all 30 teams at least once. Prielipp had repeatedly injured his arm in college, and he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2021. Not even a full year after the Twins drafted him, he underwent UCL surgery, which limited his 2023 season to just two starts.
Things looked promising for Prielipp when he returned from rehabbing his UCL in July 2024. He made seven starts with the Cedar Rapids Kernels down the stretch, pitching to a 3.26 ERA in 19 ⅓ innings, and entered the off-season without an injury for the first time in his career.
So, everyone was wondering what a fully healthy season for Prielipp would look like next year.
It turned out to be the best pitcher in Minnesota’s farm system for him and career-best numbers in almost every statistical category.
“For me, obviously, I haven’t pitched in a long time, so to make it through a whole season was a big accomplishment,” Prielipp said following his last start at CHS Field on Saturday, Sept. 13. “So just build off this, and then I’ll learn a lot about recovery and what it takes through a full season, so I’m ready for next year.”
Prielipp eclipsed his total innings pitched from the last five years, 57, in early August and set a new career high to surpass next season at 82 ⅔ innings. He only missed one turn in the rotation in June with the Wichtia Wind Surge when he got a blister on his throwing hand. Aside from that, he pitched every week he could.
Despite some mixed results in his five starts with the Saints, Prielipp finished the season building up an extra inning of work over his last three starts. The crowning achievement was finishing the year with a six-inning start, where he allowed three earned runs on five hits, two walks, and struck out four.
“It’s huge,” said Saints catcher Patrick Winkel. “Despite what happened, he still pitched well, and I think the biggest takeaway is that they’re continuing to get him to throw more. Anytime that can happen, especially after a guy has an injury or two, that’s always a good thing.”
“We’re all super happy for him,” said Saints pitching coach Jonas Lovin in August. “This is the most innings he’s thrown, I’m sure, ever in his life, so it’s cool to see. It’s cool to see him continue to learn and get better. It’ll be cool to see how he adjusts to this level and what it looks like, helping him get to the big leagues.”
Prielipp’s season totals in ERA (4.03), hits allowed (94), and WHIP (1.51) aren’t typical league or team leading in any category. Ultimately, his strikeout rate of 27% and his walk rate of 8.5% were the most promising stats he put up to show what his ceiling can be in the majors, whether as a starter or reliever.
Prielipp has demonstrated his devastating capabilities with his established arsenal of a fastball, slider, and changeup. St. Paul’s pitching coaches, Lovin and Carlos Hernandez, decided it was time for him to add a fourth pitch into the mix that can be devastating inside on lefties: a sinker.
“I think it’s only a couple of weeks in progress, so we threw it a good amount today,” Winkel said after St. Paul’s game on Sept. 13. “Obviously, not as lefty-heavy a lineup as we’ve seen from the [Columbus] Clippers in the past, but we still found our opportunities to throw them in there, and I think we got some good results.
“They’ll look at the stuff tomorrow and see how it performed, but it definitely showcased today, and I think it’ll be a good pitch for him.”
“The sinker’s a new pitch,” said Prielipp. “It got brought up to me a few weeks ago. It’s still a little work in progress, but I’m glad I can use it in-game right away. Yeah, especially off-season and the beginning of spring, just keep getting better and better at it.”
The sinker will be a primary focus for Prielipp this offseason. He now enters a second straight year where he does not have to worry about any rehab plans to accompany his work.
There’s still no clear decision whether the Twins will roll Prielipp out as a starter or reliever next season. Still, for now, a healthy and larger workload has shown Prielipp to be a devastating strikeout artist, one the Twins haven’t developed from the left side since Francisco Liriano. But Winkel and other Saints catchers have noticed the work he’s put in, and it highlights what he will be capable of next season.
“We talked before the [Saturday’s] game just about attacking and not trying to be too fine in the corners,” Winkel said. “Just, ‘Hey, here’s my best stuff, you’ve got to hit it still.’
“He did a great job of that, and I think that’s where, in the fourth, things went a little bit the opposite way. But those first three innings, he was just coming right at them and filling up the zone and basically saying, ‘Hey, here’s my best, you’ve got to give me your best.’”
