Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year - 2023

[Seth Stohs]

Yesterday, we announced Kody Funderburk as the Twins Daily relief pitcher of the year. Today, we shift our attention to the starting pitchers, and there were several very impressive pitching prospects who took bit strides in 2023. 

If we have learned anything over the past couple of years, it's that when the Twins draft a college pitcher on the third day of the draft, don't just assume they will be an organizational filler. Who knows? That Day 3 draft pick may become an organizational thriller (like Louie Varland, Bailey Ober). A look through the top starting pitchers in the Twins minor leaguers, we see more examples of this. Pitchers drafted out of college on Day 2 or 3 fill up much of this list. 

The Twins 2022 college draft picks helped lead the Cedar Rapids Kernels to the Midwest League championship this year. It's fun to see these pitchers enter the organization with one scouting report, and one or two years later, they have added four to six mph of velocity and a second and/or third pitch that are now at least an average pitch. 

Before getting into the top four starters, here are some others who received votes. .

Others Receiving Votes

• RHP C.J. Culpepper, 21, Fort Myers/Cedar Rapids: 21 GS, 86.0 IP, 72 H, 31 BB, 89 K, 3.18 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 3.2 BB/9, 9.3 K/9.  
• RHP Andrew Morris, 22, Fort Myers/Cedar Rapids: 18 G, 17 GS, 84.1 IP, 86 H, 19 BB, 79 K, 2.88 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 2.0 BB/9, 8.4 K/9. 
• RHP Marco Raya, 21, Cedar Rapids/Wichita: 22 GS, 62.2 IP, 45 H, 22 BB, 65 K, 4.02 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 3.2 BB/9, 9.3 K/9. 
• RHP Louie Varland, 25, St. Paul: 16 G, 15 GS, 81.2 IP, 84 H, 26 BB, 88 K, 3.97 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 2.9 BB/9, 9.7 K/9.  

Others Receiving Votes
Blayne Enlow, Ben Ethridge, Ronny Henriquez, Simeon Woods Richardson

Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year
Here are the top four vote-getters for Twins Starting Pitcher of the Year.

4. RHP David Festa, 23, Wichita/St. Paul
24 G, 22 GS, 92.1 IP, 86 H, 42 BB, 119 K, 4.19 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 4.1 BB/9, 11.6 K/9.
Festa was the Twins 13th round pick in 2021 out of Seton Hall. He had a tremendous first full season in pro ball in 2022. After five starts (with a 1.50 ERA) in Fort Myers, he moved up to Cedar Rapids and went 7-3 with a 2.71 ERA. In 103 2/3 innings, he had 108 strikeouts with 34 walks. As important as the numbers, Festa had developed some really awe-inspiring “stuff,” including a fastball in the upper 90s. 

The 23-year-old began this season in Wichita and pitched in 21 games (19 starts). He went 3-3 with a 4.39 ERA, and in 80 innings, he struck out 104 batters. He also walked 34 batters. In July, he pitched an inning in the Futures Game. He ended his season with three starts for the Saints. He was 1-1 with a 2.92 ERA. He had 15 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings. He also walked nine batters. He will need to hone in on his control, but David Festa should spend the 2024 season at St. Paul, eagerly awaiting an opportunity. He should continue to start, but like Louie Varland this year, Festa has the arm to finish the season as a dominant, late-inning reliever if needed. 

3. RHP Zebby Matthews, 23, Fort Myers/Cedar Rapids
22 G, 20 GS, 105.1 IP, 96 H, 15 BB, 112 K, 3.84 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 1.3 BB/9, 9.6 K/9.
A native of North Carolina, Zebby Matthews began his college career at Walters State. In 2020, he transferred to Western Carolina and went 3-1 before the season ended due to Covid. Over the next two seasons, he went 10-8 and posted sub-4.00 ERAs both years. In 157 innings, he had 182 strikeouts and just 28 walks. The Twins drafted him in the 8th round in 2022. He pitched in just two games. 

Matthews began the 2023 season at Fort Myers. However, after eight games (7 starts), he went 3-1 with a 2.56 ERA and was promoted to Cedar Rapids. He made 14 games (13 starts) for the Kernels. As he did in college, he continued to show great control. In 105 1/3 total innings, he has 112 strikeouts with just 15 walks. Matthews has a fastball that reaches 94-95 mph. He has also developed a sweeper and cutter, making them effective secondary pitches. The combination of three potentially average-or-better pitches and his ability to throw strikes and command the zone makes him very intriguing. 

2. RHP Pierson Ohl, 24, Cedar Rapids/Wichita
24 G, 21 GS, 127.1 IP, 117 H, 18 BB, 115 K, 3.32 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 1.1 BB/9, 9.1 K/9
A southern California native, Ohl headed east, to Phoenix and Grand Canyon University for his college years. As a freshman, he posted a 3.45 ERA in 16 starts. He had a 2.89 ERA through his four pre-Covid starts in 2020. Then in 2021, he went 10-2 with a 2.60 ERA. Over those final two college seasons, he struck out 120 batters and walked just 13. Based on those numbers, the Twins had to be thrilled to draft him in the 14th round in 2021. He spent the entire 2022 season at Fort Myers and went 6-7 with a 3.53 ERA. In 91 2/3 innings, he had 101 strikeouts and just 13 walks. 

Oh began the 2023 season in Cedar Rapids where he pitched in eight games (7 starts). He started the season with five really good starts and had just two walks and 26 strikeouts in 26 innings. But then, over the next three starts, he gave up 15 runs (13 earned) in 14 1/3 innings, which made it very interesting that he was promoted to Double-A. He gave up nine runs in 10 2/3 innings in his first two Wichita starts. However, over his final 14 starts, he went 7-2 with a 2.00 ERA. In 76 1/3 innings, he struck out 65 and walked just 13. Opponents hit just .197 against him. While working as a starter, he touched 97 on the radar gun, well above the high-80s, low-90s he threw when drafted. He also has a good curveball and a change-up that can be very good most days. 

1. RHP Cory Lewis, 22, Fort Myers/Cedar Rapids
22 GS, 101.1 IP, 74 H, 33 BB, 118 K, 2.49 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 2.9 BB/9, 10.5 K/9
I’m sure you won’t be surprised to learn that Cory Lewis was a star on his Marina High School baseball team. He was a four-year letter winner. He was the league’s freshman of the year. He was named the league’s top pitcher as a sophomore. He was also All-League as a first baseman. He was the league’s MVP his senior season. 

After high school, he went to UC-Santa Barbara. He was set to redshirt his first year, which worked out fine since it was the Covid season. In 2021, he pitched in 15 games and made 10 starts. He was 7-4 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. In 80 innings, he had 86 strikeouts to go with 31 walks. In 2022, he made 16 starts and went 9-1 with a 3.57 ERA. In 88 1/3 innings, he had 107 strikeouts and 42 walks. 

As a redshirt sophomore, Lewis was the Twins ninth-round pick in 2022. He didn’t pitch at all in the Twins organization. 

So he made his professional debut in 2023, and it went well. He began the season with nine starts in Fort Myers. He went 4-3 with a 2.75 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. In 39 2/3 innings, he struck out 55 batters and issued 15 walks. In mid-May, he threw the first 5 2/3 innings of a combined no-hitter for the Mussels. He was promoted to Cedar Rapids where he made 13 starts. He was 5-1 with a 2.32 ERA. In 62 innings, he had 63 strikeouts and 18 walks. And all that work led him and the Kernels to their Midwest League championship.  

Twins Director of Player Development Drew MacPhail began by simply saying, “Big Game Cory!” He continued, “Not only did Cory Lewis dominate across two levels this year. He also pitched in two, winner-take-all playoff series at Cedar Rapids (including a championship rubber match) and dominated both outings! Not only does Cory have outlier fastball pitch qualities and traditional secondary offerings, but he pairs that with an 84 mph knuckleball that got outlier miss across Low A and A+ this year.”

You’ve been reading about Lewis throughout the season here at Twins Daily, so you knew he threw a knuckleball. However, he is not a knuckleball pitcher, per se. He doesn’t just throw a 60 mph knuckleball every pitch. No, with Lewis, the knuckleball is just one of his quality pitches. He threw it about 10% of the time in 2023, and as Mr. MacPhail noted, he throws it hard, generally between 82 and 85 mph. That is very unusual. And those pitches are typically seen heading toward the plate at less than 200 RPMs. 

Lewis has a fastball in the 91-93 mph range, but he can throw it very well up in the zone. He also has a solid changeup, curveball and slider. It will be interesting to see how his pitch repertoire changes as he continues to move up the organizational ladder. 

Congratulations to Cory Lewis on winning the Twins Daily Starting Pitcher of the Year award for 2023. He’s obviously joining an impressive group of previous winners. And congratulations to all of the pitchers mentioned in today’s articles on fantastic 2023 seasons! 

Join us in congratulating Lewis and the rest of these pitchers and discussing them and the Twins pitching pipeline in the comments below.

For more Twins Daily content on the pitchers mentioned in today's article, click on the links below: 
Cory Lewis, Pierson Ohl, Zebby Matthews, David Festa, CJ Culpepper, Andrew Morris, Marco Raya, Louie Varland, Blayne Enlow, Ben Ethridge, Ronny Henriquez, Simeon Woods Richardson. 

 

Previous Starting Pitcher of the Year Winners:
2022 winner - Louie Varland 
2021 winner - Louie Varland
2019 winner- Randy Dobnak
2018 winner - Tyler Wells
2017 winner - Stephen Gonsalves
2016 winner - Stephen Gonsalves
2015 winner - Jose Berrios
2014 winner - Jose Berrios
2013 winner - Taylor Rogers
2012 winner - BJ Hermsen

View full article

[Trov]

For the people that are upset the Twins have not drafted high first round pitchers or developed ace type guys, this shows the ability of the FO to find the diamonds in the rough kind of guys.  So many later round picks looking like they have something to add to a MLB team.  Sure, none will be mega stars most likely, but to have possibly quality depth arms that have decent floors has major value. 

I am rooting for Lewis, and hope they continue to let him use the knuckleball.  Right now it just a change up basically, but with what should be unexpected movement. 

[Dman]

I was kind of rooting for Ohl to be number 1 as AA is such a tough environment to pitch in and ranking first in all those categories from July on is extremely impressive at that level. Still Lewis's numbers were just too good and he might have the better pitching repertoire as well. Congrats to Lewis on well deserved recognition.

The entire top 4 look like they have really good potential to make it to the majors and pitch well there.  Looking forward to next year and the plethora of new pitcher's from the 2023 draft.

[roger]

Thanks, Seth.  Absolutely thrilled with how the Twins draft a slew of college pitchers once their first handful of picks have been made.  With so many of these guys pitching well in the minors, gotta expect one or two to climb up to the big club every year.

[D.C Twins]

BJ Hermsen?!

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

Lewis right now, his stuff likely plays well in AA or AAA,  possibly even mlb as a fringe player.  He will continue to need to work on his craft.  If he can find another 1-2 mph on the fastball with improved mechanics,  and continues to develop his 5 pitches or refines down to 4,  he will likely have a very long career.  

Look at that list and how littered it is with 2019, 2021, and 2022 late round pitchers.   These guys just are not filler.  They have legit stuff and legit chances and possibly making it up to the big leagues.  Thats what makes the 2023 draft so interesting. The quality of pitchers selected is a step above any of the prior years.  I don't know if there is even a competitive year to compare it too.  

HS Pitchers -  Soto and Questad

Elite College pitcher with slow fastball - Hall

College pitchers bigger programs  elite stuff average or poor performance- injury - Dunn, Pasqualatto, Lee 

College pitchers big programs   above average stuff -  good to average performance - Stoffal, Dougherty, Langenberg

Small college pitchers - Santos, Hamilton, Bengard, Silvas, Bragg, Garcia

 

The small college pitchers are equivalent to prior years.  However, I cannot find a good comp to a Hall that we have picked in the last couple years.  He stays healthy and adds some velocity and maintains command - he is a very good pitcher.  I will ignore the HS pitchers - they have higher ceilings but at this point without seeing them it is just too hard to predict how they will do.  I am optimistic.  However the biggest change in previous drafts is 6 pitchers from good programs that generally at some point in college careers did very well and have very good to elite stuff.  Performances for 2023 for this group was at best good to average to poor.    However their quality and skill level appears to be better with higher ceilings than most of the pitchers we have picked in prior years.  This is purely odds and statistics,  however I see no less than 2 mlb pitchers out of this class and possibly 3 or more.  Its high,  maybe slightly optimistic, but due to the quality and the Twins ability to improve pitchers I am fairly confident in this group.  

With the hitters - Jenkins, Winokur and Keaschall   this class has the potential to be a game changer for the organization.   I am looking forward to the playoffs,  but I am will be ready for spring ball and new season of milb to see what we have in some of these players.    

 

 

 

[Alex Schieferdecker]

Between Festa, Lewis, Ohl, and Raya, the Twins have some intriguing arms coming through the system. To say nothing of Prielipp and Soto, who really haven't been able to show much yet, but were drafted high for a reason.

[weitz41]

Alot to be upbeat about in the Twins farm system when it comes to pitching prospects.

Lewis is well deserving of the #1 spot. Excited to see what next season brings from him. Ohl is a close second for me. I had to look him up on Baseball Reference earlier this season. There is a good MLB pitcher there. I'm rooting for him. AA gave Raya a bit of a downturn but after the initial ouch, he pitched much better. Festa walks per nine makes be skeptical as a starter. Although the stuff is there. Zebby, Culpepper and Morris all look like they could make it in one way or another.

I'd be very surprised if 3 seasons ago you could go 7 deep.

Then add in Canterino (easy to forget about him), SWR, Balazovic and the 2023 draft class.

[Major League Ready]

6 hours ago, weitz41 said:

Alot to be upbeat about in the Twins farm system when it comes to pitching prospects.

Lewis is well deserving of the #1 spot. Excited to see what next season brings from him. Ohl is a close second for me. I had to look him up on Baseball Reference earlier this season. There is a good MLB pitcher there. I'm rooting for him. AA gave Raya a bit of a downturn but after the initial ouch, he pitched much better. Festa walks per nine makes be skeptical as a starter. Although the stuff is there. Zebby, Culpepper and Morris all look like they could make it in one way or another.

I'd be very surprised if 3 seasons ago you could go 7 deep.

Then add in Canterino (easy to forget about him), SWR, Balazovic and the 2023 draft class.

I would feel really good about our pitching depth if Canterino and Prelipp return healthy and play to their capabilities.

[Mike Sixel]

Great list, definitely better than any in some time, from what we can tell from reading. 

[Jocko87]

10 hours ago, Hawkeye Bean Counter said:

Lewis right now, his stuff likely plays well in AA or AAA,  possibly even mlb as a fringe player.  He will continue to need to work on his craft.  If he can find another 1-2 mph on the fastball with improved mechanics,  and continues to develop his 5 pitches or refines down to 4,  he will likely have a very long career. 

As intriguing as a normal pitcher with a knuckle-ball is what are the chances that's the pitch he has to give up?  Interested to watch him in Wichita next year.

[DocBauer]

I'm super excited about Festa. Of course he needs to continue to harness his control...DUH Doc...but he's already flashed so much potential and risen so fast. A little more control and he's really exciting. I don't want to "fatten" the kid up, and I don't want to mess with mechanics, but he's still so thin I keep wondering if a few more pounds of physical development might not give him a little more endurance?

I've been really puzzled by the way the Twins handled Raya this year. They've been super aggressive, but protective at the same time. I can only conjecture they believe in his stuff and mental toughness. Thus, seemingly early promotion, but limited IP to adjust and learn and grow. He did struggle a bit, but also flashed a little, and will undoubtedly return to AA next year, possibly with an IP limit. He needs experience, but also needs to build up his arm. But man there is potential there!

Someone PLEASE give me more information on Ohl. It's been my understanding he has great control and solid secondary stuff, and a great feel for pitching, but limited velocity. And then I read he's touching 97. What?! Really? If he's sitting mid 90's and touching 97 his entire profile changes. 

Lewis is the guy for this year for sure. Does he jump to AA next year immediately, or get a few innings at CR to ramp up? It's possible his arsenal drops from 5 offerings to 4 eventually, but I wouldn't do that too early. What a tremendous 1st pro season. And from visual results I've seen, that bizarre "hard knuckleball" is a thing of beauty that should lead him to a solid ML career. I've never seen anything quite like it.

A little surprised Culpepper wasn't higher, but then again, when you look at the final numbers, OK. How can you replace Festa or Matthews?

How does the old adage go? You want to develop 2 quality ML starters, you need 5 or 6 arms to work with. You want 3, better have 8 or 9. Something like that. And guys like Ober and Varland are examples. Some won't turn out at all. Some might turn in to good BP options, and we're seeing some possibilities right now with Sands, Balazovic, Winder, and maybe Headrick and Henriquez. Possible q or 2 of these, with some changes happening, might just do that. 

Almost 58yo, been a Twins fan since around 5/6yo, and been an ardent fanatic since early teens. With the exception of a few draftees like Clemmons, Verlander, or Strasburg, I've seldom seen ANYONE actually DRAFT anything close to an ACE SP. I can't tell you how many future STUDS I've read about in magazines, in my earlier days when everything was on paper, that flamed out, but someone nobody ever predicted became a TOP SP. Our very own, beloved, borderline HOF Santana was part of a A level trade who began as a reliever. The tremendous HOF career of Randy Johnson began as a wild LH who couldn't throw strikes, bounced a little bit, and then became what he was.

Me, waxing semi-poetically, is just saying I understand and appreciate what the FO, lead by Johnson in the scouting department, is doing. If there is a tremendous arm just sitting there in the 1st round, they would grab them. They did that with Petty, and then turned him in to Gray. If you want to dissect Lewis vs Green, there's a thread for that. There was no better arm, potentially, than Lee or Jenkins the last 2 drafts.

What this FO, and scouting department do, is recognize TOP talent they don't want to let slip by, be it HS or college talent. So they will jump on that talent. Enlow and Canterino were/are that kind of talent. Now, we're hoping Enlow to be 100% in 2024 and prove his promotion was worth it and he can still be a viable arm. Canterino is, unfortunately always has been, about health. Both are "hope", though it feels like Canterino is only a healthy elbow and half a season away from making a mark at the ML level.

What our scouting department does so well is targeting potential. I LOVED the choices of Festa, Matthews and Lewis due to length and decent stuff and potential. I liked them better than a couple earlier choices who have also done well and have potential. I'm no expert, and no scout. I just see the method to their madness. And I admit I didn't see Culpepper doing what he's done so far. Maybe I should have. Decent results and so young, barely scratching the surface, the scouting department sure seemed to get that one right.

I just laugh when others talk about drafting or acquiring an ACE SP. If only it was that easy. Remember when there were rumors of the Twins trading for Alcantara vs Lopez? Who's had the better season? Development and smart choices still make a difference. The proverbial "pipeline" that some keep alluding to is so damn frustrating to me. It's as if some who don't actually follow baseball even casually don't realize it's NOT an NFL draft where you hope to plug and play. Any sort of pipeline ALSO includes actually acquiring pitchers, just like Cleveland has done for years. And our current pipeline means acquiring and developing arms via trade. It also means developing what was in the system when the FO came on board. It also means drafting enough arms to have 6 make 2, and 9 make 3.

You want to tell me the development of Ryan is all about the Ray's drafting him and trading him, I'm going to fight you on that.  Duran, Jax, Gray and Maeda were acquired for solid prospects, I'll fight you on that too. SO FAR, they've won or at least broke even. Ober and Varland development. The 2022 and 2023 drafts have yet to yield a STUD. But should they this soon? And I don't mean to dismiss 2019 or Raya in 2020. 

There's a couple of rehad arms from the past couple of drafts that are a wait and see. It's very possible a couple of them might jump up and surprise. And Prielipp is #1 on that list, but there are a few more. And the 2022 class has mostly debuted in 2023 with ZERO or only a handful of IP. And the 2023 class has also not appeared, or has barely done so. 

Not everyone is going to make it, for sure. 2 of 6 maybe? But when you draft enough live arms with potential you get something good if your milb structure is sound. So far we have Ober and Varland and a couple potential BP arms.

Notice Nowlin, a LH arm that has LIFE isn't even listed here. How good might he be in 2024 in the rotation or a move to the pen?

You want a pipeline? It's already here, and just starting to turn out options. Not everyone is going to make it, and roles will change, But there are enough good arms in the system to feel good about what they are trying to do.

[twinstalker]

Bad year for starters, too.  Lewis an easy choice among what otherwise would be a completely embarrassing group.  Oof, this system is hurting.  I bet if a Twins exec were being honest, they'd admit their best hope is the HS guy who hasn't pitched yet, which is sad.

[Linus]

I’m not as enthusiastic as most here about this list.  A bunch of college guys between 22-24 having “good” seasons at A ball or even AA isn’t really spectacular. They should be performing well at those levels. We will see as they start to move up. 

[FlyingFinn]

Twins pregame - Brooks Lee told the Twins player development head that the "nastiest" pitcher he faced in college was Cory Lewis. Interesting.

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

On 9/30/2023 at 1:09 PM, Linus said:

I’m not as enthusiastic as most here about this list.  A bunch of college guys between 22-24 having “good” seasons at A ball or even AA isn’t really spectacular. They should be performing well at those levels. We will see as they start to move up. 

LOL -  I guess if you want to ignore Festa, Varland, Raya, and Ohl.   Yes they are college guys considering we have primarily picked college guys. Add in the highest high school pitcher we have picked in recent drafts we traded away this is the only outcome that would make us happy.   As to the big chunk that jumped from A to A+ ball in their first full year, and in reality dominated - what else would you want?  And no that does not just regularly occur.  Have you ever heard of 5 players from 1 draft that dominated their level of ball?  I sure as heck haven't.  

4th round - Morris

7th round - Jones

8th round - Matthews

9th round - Lewis

13th round - Culpepper

Add in  the pitcher with a very high ceiling in Priellip, I can see why some get excited.  You have 6 solid arms there.  Yes not all of them will make it to the big leagues.  However,  5 players that did very well in high A ball is the precursor to future success.  Besides that the stuff looks good.  Morris, Lewis and Culpepper all ended their seasons on high notes.   

 

[Major League Ready]

7 hours ago, Hawkeye Bean Counter said:

LOL -  I guess if you want to ignore Festa, Varland, Raya, and Ohl.   Yes they are college guys considering we have primarily picked college guys. Add in the highest high school pitcher we have picked in recent drafts we traded away this is the only outcome that would make us happy.   As to the big chunk that jumped from A to A+ ball in their first full year, and in reality dominated - what else would you want?  And no that does not just regularly occur.  Have you ever heard of 5 players from 1 draft that dominated their level of ball?  I sure as heck haven't.  

4th round - Morris

7th round - Jones

8th round - Matthews

9th round - Lewis

13th round - Culpepper

Add in  the pitcher with a very high ceiling in Priellip, I can see why some get excited.  You have 6 solid arms there.  Yes not all of them will make it to the big leagues.  However,  5 players that did very well in high A ball is the precursor to future success.  Besides that the stuff looks good.  Morris, Lewis and Culpepper all ended their seasons on high notes.   

 

Let's not forget about Canterino.  Prelipp and/or Canterino bouncing back from injury would be big.  There is pretty darn good depth between these guys coming back from injury, plus Festa and Raya adding a couple more higher ceiling guys and then all the guys you mentioned will be tested at the higher Milb levels next year.  That's going to be interesting to watch but with a little luck we could be very deep in pitching for the next several years.  Pitching prospects are always the big if but things are looking pretty good.

[Mike Sixel]

On 9/30/2023 at 11:09 AM, Linus said:

I’m not as enthusiastic as most here about this list.  A bunch of college guys between 22-24 having “good” seasons at A ball or even AA isn’t really spectacular. They should be performing well at those levels. We will see as they start to move up. 

How far would you expect college guys to get in 1 or 2 years? Seriously?

HS pitchers rarely work out, the data is super clear on that.