As Connor Prielipp Should Be Slowing Down, He Looked His Strongest

Connor Prielipp put together the best outing of his young career Sunday, as he faced off against the Colorado Rockies to secure the Twins a series victory. In the win, Prielipp went 6 innings, allowed 6 hits and 2 earned runs, but the real fun came in the lefty's 10 strikeouts and 0 walks. Just as Prielipp approaches career marks in usage and we should usually be looking for signs of slowing down and breaking down, the rookie looked his strongest yet. 

Over 93 pitches, we saw the pinnacle of the morphing of his pitch mix that has taken place since his debut. In his first outing against the New York Mets, the Twins starter relied very heavily on his slider, throwing it 42 times (51%). He also mixed in his four-seam fastball 21 times (26%), changeup 13 times (16%), and curveball 5 times (6%). 

images via Statcast

That debut was very good results-wise, but even early on, we saw the first glimpse of a pitch that was the star on Sunday: Prielipp’s curve. On Sunday, Prielipp employed three pitches almost equally, with his slider thrown 25 times (27%), four-seam fastball 25 times (27%), and the curveball 24 times (26%). The evolution to increased curveball usage culminated in impressive whiff numbers in this latest start. 

In total, Prielipp generated 20 whiffs against the Rockies lineup. Of those, eight came on curveballs. That pitch secured half of Prielipp’s strikeouts on the day. The always-dominant slider was the only other pitch to account for multiple put-aways on the day. 

On top of those incredible results, Prielipp also saw his spin rate climb well above his year-long averages. His slider was up to 2,961 RPM (seasonal average: 2,878); the fastball was up to 2,290 (average: 2,265); and the curve up to 3,270 (3,199). At any moment, the Twins may have to back off on Prielipp’s usage as he goes past his career marks, but he has done everything he can to prove he is only stronger and more effective than he was at his debut. All the little indicators one normally checks to find signs of wearing down and failing remain encouraging, and the results are only getting better.