Minnesota Twins Pitching Prospect Connor Prielipp Reaches Triple-A: What’s Left to Prove?

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of Connor Prielipp)

When the St. Paul Saints announced that Connor Prielipp would be making the jump from Double-A Wichita, it was another milestone in what has already been a winding journey. One of the hardest-throwing southpaws in the system, Prielipp’s ascent is notable for both his talent and his turbulence. After all, this is the first year he’s pitched above Single-A, and injuries have repeatedly slowed his path.

For Twins fans hoping to see him in Minneapolis soon, there are still some boxes that need to be checked before he’s ready for The Show.

Staying on the Mound
The first and most crucial question mark surrounding Prielipp is simple: health. Since being drafted in 2022, he has undergone both Tommy John surgery and an internal brace procedure, costing him the better part of two seasons. Between Alabama, the minors, and his pro rehab, his innings total since 2020 remains shockingly light for a 24-year-old pitcher (under 32 professional innings entering 2025). The Twins know he has the arsenal to compete, but the reality is that his body hasn’t proven it can hold up across a full professional season.

At Double-A Wichita, Minnesota kept his workload tightly managed. He never pitched past the fifth inning and never threw more than 76 pitches in an outing. That caution speaks volumes. Before the Twins can even consider him for a rotation spot in Minneapolis, he’ll need to prove he can consistently take the ball every fifth day without setback.

Building Up the Innings
The next step in Prielipp’s progression is building volume. In Wichita, his strikeout numbers were eye-catching (27% K rate), but the club has yet to see him navigate a lineup three times through or reach the 90–100 pitch range that big-league starters regularly handle. In his last three Double-A appearances, he allowed multiple earned runs and averaged just over three innings and 70 pitches per appearance.

Triple-A will provide the stage for this. Even if his ERA or strikeout totals fluctuate, what the Twins want to see is stamina. Can he get through five innings regularly? Can he stay sharp past the 70-pitch mark? Until he demonstrates those traits, he’ll remain more of a “talented prospect” than a true major-league option. In his Triple-A debut on Tuesday, he pitched 3 1/3 innings on 81 pitches (53 strikes) with four walks and five strikeouts. 

Command, Not Just Stuff
One area that makes Prielipp stand out is his ability to throw strikes. His 6.7% walk rate ranked among the best in the Texas League, and his career strikeout-to-walk ratio (20.4 K-BB% at Double-A) is one of the highest in the Twins’ system. Still, command in the upper minors is a different beast. Triple-A hitters are far less likely to chase out of the zone and more capable of punishing mistakes left over the plate. Nerves may have impacted his Triple-A debut, where he walked a season-high four batters. At Double-A, Prielipp never walked more than two batters in a game.  

For Prielipp, refining that edge between throwing strikes and commanding them will be crucial. His slider is a true out pitch, but big-league hitters will force him to land his fastball consistently in the zone if he’s going to find success at the next level.

Lessons From the Bullpen Path
The Twins have been down this road before with talented but injury-risk arms. Most recently, Jhoan Duran was shifted to a relief role after his own durability questions surfaced. That transition allowed him to stay healthy, focus on shorter bursts, and eventually become one of the most dominant late-inning weapons in all of baseball.

The same fate could await Prielipp if the innings never build up or if the medical red flags persist. His mid-90s fastball and wipeout slider could play up even more in relief, giving the Twins another potential weapon at the back of their bullpen. It’s not the preferred path, because Minnesota would love to develop him as a starter. However, history shows that the bullpen can sometimes be the best way to unlock a pitcher’s potential while managing risk.

What Comes Next?
The Twins didn’t promote Prielipp to St. Paul because he was dominating Double-A. He had a 3.65 ERA with a 1.49 WHIP, and those numbers don’t scream “ready.” Instead, they want him tested against more advanced hitters while stretching his arm in a more controlled environment. If he stays healthy and can handle a larger workload, he has the tools to move quickly from “project” to “rotation option.”

In many ways, Prielipp remains the ultimate high-risk, high-reward arm in the system. The ceiling is that of a playoff-caliber starter, the kind of cost-controlled lefty that the Twins haven’t developed in years. But the floor, if his health doesn’t hold or he can’t build innings, is a reliever role or stalled progression.

For now, the biggest victory is that Prielipp is still healthy. The Saints placed him on the development list after his outing Tuesday, to give themselves an extra arm as they massage and manage his workload in the final phase of the season, but he has no injury concerns at the moment. The next victory will be when he proves he no longer needs such careful handling, in whatever role.

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What stands out about Prielipp’s season so far? What will his role be in 2026 and beyond? Leave a comment and start the discussion. 

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[nicksaviking]

He does have exciting stuff; I really hope the Twins know what they are doing with him though. Lots of players with this injury profile can't make it as a starter, so the Twins need to be pretty confident he's capable because it would be a shame for Prielipp if further starter-related injuries derails what could otherwise have been an top end relief career.

[DJL44]

I heard a good interview with Toby Gardenhire about Prielipp. He said his stuff is great and he's getting ahead of batters but having trouble finishing them off. That will lead to higher pitch counts.

[1985Fan]

One question: Why is St.Paul a “more controlled environment” than Wichita? That was given as one of the reasons for his promotion to St. Paul. Just wondering if they don’t have confidence in the coaching staff at Wichita or something. 

[mrguy]

1 hour ago, 1985Fan said:

One question: Why is St.Paul a “more controlled environment” than Wichita? That was given as one of the reasons for his promotion to St. Paul. Just wondering if they don’t have confidence in the coaching staff at Wichita or something. 

i think they mean more "how long can he last against higher level players" since the jump from AA to AAA can be a pretty big gap. He was finally able to get up to more than 5 innings in Wichita before getting to St. Paul, so now they want to see how long it will take to get him to be able to work to that point or better against other players knocking on the door to MLB. And it would be more of a realistic look at where he's at at this point in his career to see how he adjusts at this level vs continuing to play in AA.

[Nashvilletwin]

He will only be 27 in ‘28 - the first time we will really care if he’s truly any good.  Plenty of time to bring him along slowly.  No reason to rush him.   

[Ricky Vaughn]

He has pitched very few innings since high school. He needs to learn how to pitch not just throw. It would help him a lot to be teamed up with a good game calling catcher who can teach him how to get hitters out. I don't think St. Paul has that.

[DocBauer]

He has pitched 65 innings in 2025 so far. That exceeds the 58 IP TOTAL previously between college and professional ball. He just needs to be healthy the rest of the season and keep working on his stuff. 

I've raised the point that the offseason would be a great time to add a 4th pitch to his repertoire. Some have said his current stuff is so good he doesn't need it. Maybe? But as good as his 3 pitches are, I can't image a 4th offering against RH batters being a bad thing. Maybe a cutter to give a different look than his normal FB and slider? Maybe an old school forkball or newer school splitter? 

The kid is still 24yo and won't be 25yo until January. Just BECAUSE he could be a dangerous and effective pen arm next season shouldn't dismiss the opportunity to be a rotation option.

He's STILL younger than Matthews and Festa, and about the same age of SWR. DON'T let impatience affect your thinking.

While I still believe he needs a decent/solid offering in addition to the tremendous STUFF he already has, he needs to work on command. With SO FEW INNINGS pitched as a collegian  AND as a professional, he's STILL LEARING how to pitch!

His BABIP is WAY high. That's because, much like Matthews, he's almost in the zone more than he needs to be. He needs to learn COMAND, not control, where he can move his pitches around the zone to get batters out.

I'd be 100% fine if the Twins started him at AAA to begin 2026 and just SAT him there for at least a half season to work on COMAND, and maybe work on a 4th pitch vs shoving him to the pen as so many have called for.

Hmmm...a LHSP that has top rotation upside in late 2026, or 2027, or a potentially stud BP LH arm in 2026? I'll pick the SP arm all day long.

[IndianaTwin]

Another data point is Marco Raya. He was last year's "Can he stay healthy" project. They managed his workload carefully at Wichita. He started virtually every Friday night. First half of the year, he never threw more than 60 pitches. The last half they let him push 80 before rewarding him with a final start in St. Paul. 

This year they did virtually the same, but in St. Paul. He didn't go above 70 pitches until June 5, but since then has been allowed to go above 80 with some regularity and above 90 twice. He hasn't missed a start, though they've often given him an extra day or even two. After 97.2 innings a year ago, he's up to 80.1 with probably four or five starts remaining. 

The next step will be about actually being effective at St. Paul (6.27 ERA), but he just turned 23 this month, on average 5.7 years younger than the batters he's facing.

It seems like their methodology has been effective in keeping Raya healthy, and they are following a similar pattern with Prielipp. He first hit 60 pitches on June 7 and was up to 76 on Aug. 13 before the promotion to AAA and 81 pitches on Tuesday night. It looks like he's only missed two starts plus the All-Star Break. He's a little older than Raya, so it probably makes sense to test him St. Paul. You can probably pencil him into the St. Paul rotation next spring for a Raya-type workload.

 

[IndianaTwin]

3 hours ago, mrguy said:

i think they mean more "how long can he last against higher level players" since the jump from AA to AAA can be a pretty big gap. He was finally able to get up to more than 5 innings in Wichita before getting to St. Paul, so now they want to see how long it will take to get him to be able to work to that point or better against other players knocking on the door to MLB. And it would be more of a realistic look at where he's at at this point in his career to see how he adjusts at this level vs continuing to play in AA.

Also wonder if part of "more controlled" is the better facilities that are going to come with moving to AAA. 

[SaberNerd]

1 hour ago, DocBauer said:

I've raised the point that the offseason would be a great time to add a 4th pitch to his repertoire. Some have said his current stuff is so good he doesn't need it. Maybe? But as good as his 3 pitches are, I can't image a 4th offering against RH batters being a bad thing. Maybe a cutter to give a different look than his normal FB and slider? Maybe an old school forkball or newer school splitter? 

I like the idea of a 4th pitch, but with a guy who gets >3000RPM on the slider, curveball should be the first thought and consider a sweeper.

[DocBauer]

2 hours ago, SaberNerd said:

I like the idea of a 4th pitch, but with a guy who gets >3000RPM on the slider, curveball should be the first thought and consider a sweeper.

Good call! I am Not a pitching expert by any imagination. And with Prielipp being a LH, I have to reverse my train of thought. I don't know how his change works directionally. And that might determine whether a curve or sweeper is better. And I'm trying hard to remember the videos I've seen from his STUFF. I want to say the curve makes more sense based on memory. I'm thinking it befuddles RH batters more and could be used against LH hitters on occasion as "look at this" offering. 

[thelanges5]

Don’t build up the volume in 2025. Keep him healthy. A 4th pitch would be a great thing for the offseason. 

[twinstalker]

What's left to prove?  Everything?

Also, I've never considered him a starter, though it's fine to train him starting.

[Jeff K]

I see no evidence that Prielipp's future is as a starter.  Has good potential as a reliever.

[BrokenCompass]

Looks like this is a story about an injury prone "prospect" who is getting long in the tooth. Don't get me wrong I wish this guy nothing but the best. 

But looking at the body of work, does anyone really expect this guy to contribute in a significant way at the MLB level? I find there are several other far more likely scenarios here. 

I guess when you get swept at home by Oakland you have to give readers a reason to feel hopeful. But this kid ain't it. Tell me more about the real prospects. 

[Mike Sixel]

I don't get why they are trying to make him a starter at this point. He won't start next year in the majors, most likely (innings and all)....there may not be a season in 27......make him a RP and get him in the majors making real money (and helping the team).