Top pitching prospect Festa building endurance

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- David Festa uses various terms to describe his physique over the years -- “premature for my build” is one of them, and, well, “tall and skinny” is really the more blunt way he puts it, as is apparent when standing near him in a room.

He still towers over most at 6-foot-6, and he still looks like he could add some more to his stretched frame -- though this is already a strengthened version of Festa as compared to the all-limbs 21-year-old he’d been when the Twins took him in the 13th round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Seton Hall University.

Now the top pitching prospect in the system per MLB Pipeline and on the roster for the Twins’ inaugural Spring Breakout game next Saturday -- though he’s not expected to pitch in that game -- Festa’s velocity has climbed to peak at 98 mph and his slider has refined, boosting him to a No. 5 ranking in the organization and his first MLB camp this spring.

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And the final step in Festa’s development might be physical development.

“I get pretty sore just based on the fact that I’m not a big, muscular guy, so really, the volume has kind of allowed me to not be as sore in my legs and my arm,” Festa said. “I think that’s something that will help me throughout the season.”

Especially as Festa’s stuff has continued to tick up in his time with the Twins, he admits that he hasn’t tended to recover well after outings due to his frame, with his velocity not sustaining well at times in outings and deeper into the season due to fatigue.

With that in mind, the Twins connected Festa with a trainer close to home in New Jersey, and the right-hander went in five times a week for volume lifting, functional lifting and more unilateral work as part of his offseason strengthening program.

“I know it was a big emphasis for him,” said Twins player development director Drew MacPhail. “We sat down with him at the beginning of the offseason, and to his credit, he fully bought in. I think we felt like he's in the best position, just physically, this season, kind of going into the year that he's ever been. That's really exciting.”

MacPhail explained that adding weight isn’t necessarily the goal -- though that might appear to be the easy conclusion just from looking at Festa -- but it’s more general physical development, strength and endurance over a full season.

The 24-year-old has not thrown more than 103 2/3 innings in a professional season despite having never been placed on the injured list, with the Twins having been exceedingly careful with his workload.

“I want to be a guy that can throw 150-200 innings,” Festa said. “I think lifting with volume will help me out in the future for sure.”

That’s part of why it took until Sunday for Festa to finally see action in a Grapefruit League game, as the arm soreness and fatigue that lingered at the end of last season and their overall caution with his innings caused the Twins to be deliberate with his buildup into ‘24.

Following his slower buildup into game action, Festa threw a scoreless inning in the Twins’ 7-3 loss to the Nationals, allowing a walk and single but erasing them with a pickoff and a double play.

Festa had more growth to find in pitching than many, considering he was actually committed to play shortstop at a Division III college before he volunteered to pitch for his high school team during a tournament in which they ran out of pitchers, threw a handful of times as a senior and chose instead to walk on at Seton Hall as a full-time pitcher.

He has only continued to develop after the Twins found him deep into that ‘21 Draft, soaring up prospect boards as he has continued to harness his velocity and feel out his control with that higher-powered arsenal.

“I mean, I didn’t throw this hard in college,” Festa said. “I often get asked what happened. I really don’t know.”

Much like how Louie Varland proved significant for Minnesota throughout the ‘23 season and down the stretch, the Twins are hoping that some continued caution and added strength could help Festa become an X-factor at an important point in the season.

“There's a world where hopefully [Festa is] pitching in October if everything goes ideally for the Twins and David,” MacPhail said.