Most conversations about the Twins' starting rotation for 2025 center on the big three veterans at the front end of that group. Undeniably, Pablo López, Bailey Ober and Joe Ryan are solid, playoff-caliber hurlers, but the key to the team having a great overall rotation might very well be sophomore fourth starter David Festa. He made 14 appearances in the big leagues in 2024 and had a less-than-stellar 4.90 ERA, but his strikeout (27.8%) and walk (8.3%) rates marked him as better than that. His FIP was 3.76, and despite an approach centered on high fastballs, he didn't give up a disqualifying number of home runs. His season offers a lot of promise for the immediate future, even if he's unlikely to work six innings per start anytime soon.
We ought to talk more about Festa, though. He gets overshadowed by his more established and experienced rotation mates, but his upside might be as high as any of theirs. So far, he's much less well-rounded than they are, but there's time yet for that to change. He might need another pitch in his arsenal. He might need to learn to sequence and locate in more varied ways. Most plausibly, perhaps, he needs to gradually develop the stamina and command to keep attacking hitters with his best stuff deeper into games, including (gasp) the third time through the batting order. Getting his development right and identifying the places where he needs to make big strides to reach his potential stands near the top of the Twins' list of vital tasks entering 2025. Let's see how much of that work we can do, ourselves.
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