2022 Prospect Previews: David Festa

While the MLB lockout continues to stagnate the offseason, minor-league players are preparing to travel to Florida and Arizona to begin preparation for their upcoming seasons. In this series, I’ll look at some of the Twins' notable picks from the early rounds of the 2021 draft. I’ll dig into scouting reports and storylines to look for ahead of the 2022 season. Next up, David Festa, a right-handed pitcher out of Seton Hall University

Scouting Grades: Unavailable

Signing and Scouting
The Twins selected right-handed pitcher David Festa with their thirteenth-round pick in the 2021 draft (399th overall) out of Seton Hal University. Festa signed for a $125,000 bonus.

Prior to the 2021 draft, Festa was ranked as the #474 prospect by Baseball America in their annual pre-draft top 500 rankings. BA described Festa as ‘having some sneaky projectability’ due to being 6’6 and 185 lbs pre-draft. Early in his final season at Seton Hall, Festa’s fastball was sitting at 88-92 mph, before jumping to 90-94 mph with a peak of 96 mph at the end of the season. After working with him briefly at the end of the 2021 season, the Twins already had Festa’s fastball sitting at 97 mph.

Festa’s best secondary pitch prior to the draft was his changeup which sits 81-84 mph and shows good fade. Festa can locate his changeup at any point in the count. Pre-draft scouting reports point to the lack of a plus breaking pitch being the clear area of need for Festa moving forward, Prior to the draft, he was throwing both a slider and a curveball. It’s possible Festa’s long-term role may be in the bullpen, where his plus fastball would play even more. That will depend on how he’s able to leverage his changeup and develop a more potent breaking pitch in 2022.

Seizing the Moment
‘It’s definitely been a great atmosphere,’ says Festa, who has been preparing for the 2022 season in Fort Myers several weeks ahead of schedule. When speaking to Twins Daily’s Seth Stohs, Festa emphasized the importance of preparing for the 2021 season in warm conditions, having coaches available to him in Fort Myers, and being able to lean into his lifting program.

Jersey Boy
"Seton-Hall prep, where I went to high school, was an incredibly competitive high-school program’" Festa reflects on some of his formative baseball experiences. He speaks highly of both the talent he played with and the amount of preparation and work ethic required to develop and perform at a high level. "We had a Vanderbilt commit, a Stanford commit, a Tulane commit, so it was a lot of talent on one high school team."

Festa was originally committed as a shortstop in high school. He only began pitching his senior year after going through a significant growth spurt and playing in tournaments where teams would often run out of pitching. What a decision that would turn out to be for the New Jersey native.

Draft Day and Transitioning to the Twins
"I didn’t want to get too caught up (in where I would be selected), I just wanted to get the opportunity." The through-line in listening to Festa speak about his experiences in baseball and his opportunity with the Twins is his level of focus. He has a quiet, steely determination evident in his answers and the level of gratitude he has for the chance in front of him.

Festa pitched 72 innings at Seton Hall in 2021, before pitching at both Rookie ball and Fort Myers to round out his first season as a professional. ‘For the most part, it was a build-up,’ says Festa of his throwing routine after his collegiate season was finished. The Twins gave incoming pitchers around a month before getting them into longer outings in games.

"It was crazy how well we all got along," says Festa of other 2021 draftee pitchers he had the opportunity to connect with in his first season. He names his keys to success as attacking the strike zone and maximizing his changeup, for which he utilizes a circle-change grip. "The main thing was to do what’s right for my body,’ says Festa of pushing his fastball velocity to 97 mph. He speaks warmly of the impact the coaches at Fort Myers have had on maximizing his velocity, in addition to data and tools at his disposal since beginning his pro career. Festa, his plus fastball, and quality changeup, will be an intriguing prospect to track in 2022.

Likely to Start At: Fort Myers (Low-A)

Conclusion: Festa is an intriguing arm as a late-round pick in the 2021 draft. His fastball will play at any level. His speed of progression and overall ceiling will likely depend on his ability to continue to develop his secondary pitches to be increasingly effective, particularly a quality-breaking pitch.

Who is the most intriguing of the five draft picks discussed so far? What are your thoughts on David Festa ahead of the 2022 season?

Previous Prospect Previews
Twins Prospect Preview: Chase Petty
Twins Prospect Preview: Noah Miller
Twins Prospect Preview: Steven Hajjar
Twins Prospect Preview: Cade Povich
Twins Prospect Preview: Christian Encarnacion-Strand
Twins Prospect Preview: Pierson Ohl