Festa To Make MLB Debut For Minnesota On Thursday - Seton Hall University Athletics
The Minnesota Twins have called up former Seton Hall baseball standout David Festa (Verona, N.J.) to start Thursday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks i...
Thursday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix, the club announced Thursday.
First pitch is scheduled for 3:40 p.m. Eastern and the game will be broadcast nationally on MLB Network. Festa will be the 32nd Pirate in program history to play in an MLB game.
The Twins' top pitching prospect and the 99th best prospect in all of baseball, Festa had been dominating at the Triple-A level for the St. Paul Saints where he has struck out 87 batters in 59.2 innings this season with a 3.77 ERA. His strikeout rate of 35.1 percent ranks seventh in Minor Leage Baseball. In his last three outings, Festa has fanned 22 batters while issuing only one walk.
"[Festa's] been fulfilling his obligations by having good stuff, by being in the strike zone a good amount, by missing a bunch of bats," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said after last night's game. "He's throwing the ball how we want him to, and he's ready for this. He's been preparing for this for a long time. We think he's at the top of his game and he's ready to go."
Festa was an All-BIG EAST First Team performer as a senior where he posted a 2.00 ERA, a .175 opponent's batting average and 67 strikeouts in 11 starts. In three seasons in South Orange, Festa posted 138 strikeouts and a 3.49 ERA in 33 career appearances. He was also named a Preseason All-BIG EAST selection prior to the 2020 season that was ultimately canceled due to tbe COVID-19 global pandemic. Festa was named Seton Hall's Freshman Male Athlete of the Year after pitching to a to a 3-4 record with a 4.42 ERA and 58 strikeouts with 25 walks in 53.0 innings pitched as the team's Sunday starter. He went to high school at Seton Hall Prep, playing for Seton Hall baseball alum Mike Sheppard, Jr., where he pitched and also played shortstop.
