David Festa had an encouraging rookie season. He gave up 12 earned runs in his first two outings but settled in afterward. Festa yielded 23 earned runs in 54⅓ innings in his next 12 starts (3.15 ERA), living up to the hype as the Minnesota Twins’ No. 5 prospect last year.
However, Festa started this season in Triple-A after giving up 15 runs in four spring training starts. He dominated in his first start with the St. Paul Saints but gave up ten hits and five earned runs in his second start. Still, the Twins called him up for an April 11 start against the Detroit Tigers after Pablo López injured his hamstring.
Seven days after giving up five earned runs to the Columbus Clippers, Festa held Detroit to three hits and one run in 4⅔ innings.
“It was a very solid outing from him,” Rocco Baldelli said after the Tigers game. “You could look at the line and [conclude] that he held them down. He did his job. He did exactly what we were hoping that he would do.”
The Twins were pleased enough with Festa’s outing that they will start him against the New York Mets on Wednesday. Festa primarily throws a fastball (43.8% of the time), changeup (29.7%), and slider (20.3%). However, he’s mixed in a sinker (6.3%), which he added during the offseason.
“I’d like to think I’m a little better [than last year],” Festa said after the Detroit start. “I’ve been doing a lot of mechanical work. And then the sinker, I think, has helped me a lot in the few starts I’ve made this year. I think it’ll help me with [the] second and third time through the order, stuff like that. Helps me with right-handed hitters. I even threw one to a lefty today.”
Festa has confidence throwing his changeup to lefties and righties but wanted another pitch in his mix. He tried a curveball in his bullpens last year but never used it in a game. Instead, he went with a sinker to keep hitters off his fastball.
“The fastball kind of cuts a little bit,” Festa explained. “So, it moves a little glove-side on me, and I have a tougher job of getting in [on right-handed hitters] because then I feel like it really had to start in for it to stay in because of the slight cut that it has.
“The sinker just having the natural arm-side movement allows me to kind of establish that inner lane. Hopefully, it’ll help with the four-seam success to right-handers.”
Ultimately, Festa left too many balls over the middle in the blowup starts. Rocco Baldelli said all pitchers will leave pitches over the middle throughout an outing. He believes Festa’s next step is mastering the purpose of each pitch and learning how to sequence them to keep hitters off balance.
“He’s doing different types of things,” said Baldelli. “[Festa is] adding to all the pitches he brings to the table. But a lot of it with him is understanding where he’s at in a count, where he’s at in a game, how to use his stuff, when [Festa] needs to get in the zone, when he needs to get out of the zone, and then doing it.
“He has very good stuff, and he has the ability to do these things, but not losing that focus where you’re just going out there throwing a pitch, but where you’re really understanding what you’re trying to do with that pitch.”
Festa says his focus is more on sequencing than pitch shape, even with the sinker. He likes how the ball is coming out of his hand. The next step is using the sinker and his other pitches to ensure the hitter doesn’t expect what’s coming.
“I started working on [the sinker] in the offseason, but I feel like it’s a really good spot to throw it a lot in the game,” he said. “I wouldn’t say I’m really working on the shape of it now, more execution.
“I’m at my best when I’m kind of mixing all different counts rather than falling into being a little bit too predictable.”
Festa is also working on his mechanics to improve his command. His middle-middle pitches result from either having to come back into the zone or throwing a pitch incorrectly. Both are related to command.
He has focused on his back foot to command his pitches better. Festa creates power by driving off his back foot and transferring momentum to his front pitch as he delivers it. However, he loses command when he leaves his back foot too soon.
“Keeping my back foot down a little bit longer helps with my direction towards home plate and overall helps with my command,” he said. “It’s all kind of a chain reaction when things are going wrong. Mechanically, I might get out of sync. That’s where my pitches tend to be a little inconsistent.”
Festa tries to replicate the motion while playing catch, because he only takes the mound for his bullpen and while making his start. He believes if he keeps his heel down and his torso stacked, he’ll maintain command of his pitches.
With the new sinker and a track record of success in the majors and minors, Festa could buoy the rotation until López returns. One of Minnesota’s top prospects could stave off a return to Triple-A. He’s already earned an extra start with his performance against Detroit.
