Connor Prielipp’s Workload Management Could Shape the Twins’ Playoff Push

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of © Brad Penner-Imagn Images

When Connor Prielipp arrived in the big leagues this season, the conversation was never going to be solely about results. The former second-round pick has long possessed some of the best pure stuff in the Twins organization, but his development path has been defined as much by innings restrictions and injuries as strikeouts and prospect rankings.

Now, as Minnesota pushes toward the postseason, the Twins face a challenging question: How do they maximize Prielipp's value while protecting a pitcher who has rarely handled a full professional workload? The answer could have a significant impact on both Prielipp's long-term future and the Twins' chances of playing deep into October.

The Workload Challenge Is Real

Prielipp is currently on the 15-day injured list with a blister on his left middle finger, an issue that has surfaced before during his professional career.

Before landing on the IL, Prielipp started against Cleveland and allowed three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out six over five innings. Through his first 13 major-league starts, he has posted a 5.00 ERA and 1.37 WHIP with 71 strikeouts in 66 2/3 innings. While the ERA may not jump off the page, his 3.90 FIP and underlying metrics suggest he has pitched better than the surface numbers indicate.

The blister issue provides a temporary pause, but it also gives Minnesota something valuable: time. Prielipp has already thrown 82 1/3 innings between Triple-A and the major leagues in 2026. That's essentially matching the career-high 82 2/3 innings he logged across the minors last season. Even more remarkable is the fact that from 2020 through 2024, dating back to his senior year of high school, he threw only 58 total innings because of injuries and surgeries.

That's why the Twins have approached every outing with caution.

“I think any chance that we can give him a day or two, we’ll do that,” Twins manager Derek Shelton said. “There’s a big difference between monitoring a guy when he comes to the big leagues to be cautious, and then there’s the difference [with] this guy, who has 150 innings since he was a 17-year-old in high school. We have to be very thoughtful of that.”

Letting Him Reach 120 Innings Is the Simple Solution 

The most straightforward path would be allowing Prielipp to remain in the rotation until he reaches roughly 120 innings before shutting him down. From a developmental standpoint, that makes sense. It would represent a significant increase from last year's workload while still keeping him within a manageable range.

The Twins have already shown they are willing to carefully monitor his usage. Extra rest days, shorter outings, and strategic scheduling decisions could help stretch those innings further into September.

As Shelton explained, there is no universal formula for managing pitchers with limited workloads.

“I know there’s no perfect science to it, because if somebody had that figured out, you would always see getting an extra day, always getting two extra days, or you would see shortened starts,” said Shelton. “I don’t think there’s a perfect science. I think it’s kind of monitoring the situation day-to-day. It’s also monitoring where our bullpen’s at going into an off-day. If we’re not, if at the start of our series, so I think there’s a lot of factors.”

The problem with the innings-limit approach is timing. If Prielipp continues averaging five to six innings per start after returning from the injured list, he could reach that threshold before the regular season ends. For a rebuilding club, that might be acceptable. For a team chasing a playoff spot, voluntarily removing one of its most talented arms from the roster becomes much harder to justify.

The Bullpen Could Offer the Best Compromise

That's why a move to the bullpen may ultimately be the most practical solution. With Bailey Ober returning from the IL, Minnesota could shift Prielipp into a multi-inning relief role. This could also allow Mike Paredes to stay in the rotation as the fifth starter. For Prielipp, he could work one to three innings at a time while maintaining a regular workload schedule instead of throwing five or six innings every fifth day.

The benefits are significant. First, it would allow the Twins to better control his innings total. A pitcher who might accumulate 30-40 innings over the final two months as a starter could potentially throw half that amount in relief. Second, it would keep him available for the entire season instead of forcing a September shutdown. Third, his stuff could play up even more in shorter outings.

Prielipp's secondary pitches have already proven capable of missing bats at the highest level. The curveball he added during the offseason has generated whiffs on 36.3 Whiff%, while his slider continues to be a legitimate weapon (27.7 Whiff%) against both right-handed and left-handed hitters.

The next step remains finding more consistency with his fastball. Working in shorter bursts could allow him to attack hitters more aggressively and potentially add a little extra velocity. A bullpen role would also provide valuable postseason experience should Minnesota qualify for October baseball.

The Twins Haven't Made a Decision Yet

For now, the organization remains in evaluation mode. Prielipp's current IL stint delays the decision and gives the club additional time to assess its pitching depth. The Twins know they must manage his volume carefully, but they haven't yet determined exactly what that will look like over the season's final months.

“I wish I had the answer to that,” said Shelton last month. “We will definitely have to monitor the volume regardless of if it’s within starts or throughout the year. I don’t think we’re at the point in the year where we will determine, or we have determined where we’re at with that yet.”

The uncertainty is understandable, but the season timeline might force the Twins to make a decision sooner rather than later. Prielipp's health history makes every inning important, but so does his value to a team with postseason aspirations.

Finding the Right Balance

The Twins always envisioned Prielipp becoming a difference-maker. The challenge has never been talent. It has been availability.

This season has finally provided a glimpse of what he can be when healthy. Even with some growing pains, he has missed bats, shown the ability to navigate major-league lineups, and demonstrated why he remains one of the organization's most important young pitchers.

Shutting him down entirely once he reaches an innings threshold would certainly be the safest option. It would also remove a potentially impactful arm from the roster during the most important part of the season.

A move to the bullpen feels like the better compromise. It allows Minnesota to continue protecting his health while keeping him available for meaningful games down the stretch and, potentially, into October.

The Twins don't need to decide today. But as Prielipp inches closer to his workload limit, that decision is coming. And it could become one of the organization's most important roster choices of the second half.

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What is the best option with Prielipp? Should he continue to start and hit an innings limit or move to the bullpen? Leave a comment and start the discussion.

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[rdehring]

First, this is a nice problem to have.  If Prielipp weren't pitching like a future top starter, this wouldn't be as much of an issue.

I don't like the idea of moving him to the pen.  Wouldn't it be better to leave him as a starter every fifth day and limit him to 3 innings, or say 50 pitches?  That way he continues the normal routine he has dealt with his entire life, i.e., nothing changes except his number of pitches.  Maybe have Paredes scheduled every fifth day to follow him with 4-5 innings.  

Should he make another ten starts at 3 innings each, he would be at 112+ innings, giving him the opportunity to make a couple starts in the playoffs should that opportunity arrive.

[HarmonK03]

7 minutes ago, rdehring said:

First, this is a nice problem to have.  If Prielipp weren't pitching like a future top starter, this wouldn't be as much of an issue.

I don't like the idea of moving him to the pen.  Wouldn't it be better to leave him as a starter every fifth day and limit him to 3 innings, or say 50 pitches?  That way he continues the normal routine he has dealt with his entire life, i.e., nothing changes except his number of pitches.  Maybe have Paredes scheduled every fifth day to follow him with 4-5 innings.  

Should he make another ten starts at 3 innings each, he would be at 112+ innings, giving him the opportunity to make a couple starts in the playoffs should that opportunity arrive.

Either he is a starter or a reliever.  You would be running your bullpen short by one by saving Paredes every fifth day.  And hoping he pitches into the 7th or 8th inning usually does not work out, so you are essentially turning this into a bullpen day.

[TJSweens]

The whole idea that Prielipp has to be capped at 120 innings is not based on any scientific study. It's a feel good practice for the front office and training staff. There is nothing that says he can't go beyond 120 innings. Put him on a pitch count and find ways to give him extra recovery time between starts. 

[Colbeh]

I do like the idea of keeping him as a starter/opener. Have him hit the mound as a opener and only go 1-2 innings depending on the pitch count. Im not sure if pairing him with a fellow lefty like Rojas would help, maybe Zebby/Parades would work better.

That way he can stay on a consistent routine like he was starting. I think that would benefit him more in the long run.

Im also not against him being used as a bullpen weapon, I just wonder if the inconsistency would hurt his game.

[amjgt]

It looks like, assuming his blister issue has cleared up, he will have two more starts before the trade deadline. I'd say you use those two starts (and the team's success between now and then) to determine if you think you need to trade for a #4 starter at the deadline. 

It's not reasonable to expect him to be a "normal" starter through the end of the season. Picking up a mid to back end rotation piece at the deadline allows you to do what you probably SHOULD do, which is to let him start normally for his next 3-4 starts then shift him to the bullpen. Given the choice, of adding a 7th inning reliever at the deadline, or adding a 4th starter and making Prielipp a 7th inning guy for the rest of the season, I'd take the latter (I'd also add another reliever).

[amjgt]

This isn't a Liriano 2006 situation where you can't live without him in your rotation. He's been as good as could reasonably hope, but his production in the rotation is replaceable for relatively cheap on the trade market. Getting him through the season feeling good is priority #1. 

[bean5302]

Prielipp should not be managed via a seasonal innings cap if he's healthy. He's not going to get to 150 innings this year, and if the Twins are capping him lower than that, they're just being paranoid. While Prielipp's "innings pitched in competitive game settings" has been low, it's not like he's been laying on a sofa waiting for his arm to heal before he can throw the ball.

There is evidence 4+ days of rest for starters is critical, and there's a 22% improvement in 5 days rest for arm injuries according to Gemini in some quick searching I did. There is no statistical improvement documented for more than 5 days rest.

There is evidence going over 100 pitches in a game increases injury risk.

There is evidence pitching more innings (over 6) in a single game increases injury risk (resting in the dugout and needing to warm back up impacts, etc).

There is evidence less than 5 days of rest between starts increases injury risk.

There is zero evidence suggesting a seasonal innings limit has any impact on injury risk.

[LA Vikes Fan]

The Dodgers have faced this issue many times with guys coming back from injury or just coming up. Their practice has been to keep the pitcher in the rotation for about 100-110 innings and then move him to the bullpen for his last 20-30 innings, usually in a high leverage 1 inning at a time role. They did it with Ohtani, Sasaki, Sheehan, Maeda, Urias, Stripling, Wood, Buhler, all guys just coming up or coming off of injuries. Its worked pretty well and helped fill out the bullpen in the stretch run and playoffs.

I think the move is to give Prielipp 2-4 more starts and then move him to the bullpen in a high leverage role. That does hinge on Ryan, Bradley, Ober, Matthews, and Paredes still being available as starters or, even better, trading prospects for a starter. That's something we should consider any way to help shore up the bullpen, get more starters and move some we have to the pen. I'd like to see either a trade of a good prospect or two for a younger starter like Soriano or Detmers, or a trade of a decent but more marginal prospect for a rental like Robbie Ray or Kevin Gausman. Move Prielipp and Paredes to the bullpen in place of Adams and either Go or Funderburk and you've helped the bullpen without damaging and maybe even improving the rotation.   Even a trade for say a Robbie Ray type leaves a rotation of Ryan, Bradley, Ober, Ray and Matthews, and a bullpen of Gomez, Morris, Rogers, Nance, Sands, Prielipp, Parades, and either Go or Funderburk. Still not a top 10 bullpen but probably in the top half and a major improvement from where we were. 

All it takes is a pitching injury or two and this wouldn't work too well but it's a promising path and it does help solve the Prielipp conundrum. Besides, a pitching injury or two is going to torpedo any pitching plan. Something to think about if things come together right. 

[amjgt]

Only partially related... Cleveland has had the same 5 starters all year. Literally. There's not a single game started for them outside of those 5 dudes.

Can you freaking imagine? What a luxury.