David Festa - RHP - Minnesota Twins
Game Film: July 4th
David Festa has unmatched potential. In a game on July 4th, the right-hander showed good vertical break on his curveball and heavy diagonal movement on his power slider when sharp. He consistently touched the mid-90s with his fastball and reached 98-99 MPH on the pitch. His slider works into the upper-80s. The video attached above highlights Festa’s July start. This was his first batter of the game and, after falling behind in the count 1-0, he threw a fastball to the right-handed hitter on the outside edge for a swing and miss. Festa followed it up with a sharp breaking ball for a strike that generated another swing and miss. He finished him off with a power slider down and away for the punch out. This at-bat underlines his powerful stuff. He showed elite spin on his breaking pitches and, when he has good control of them, his stuff can generate punch outs.
However, Festa did show signs of being unable to locate pitches in his outing. This was proven by Jorbit Vivas, the very next batter. Festa lost control of his fastball, leaving his release point up thereby creating a ball way high and out of the zone. Two pitches later he did the same thing with his breaking ball, airmailing it over the catcher’s head. The result of the at-bat ended with Festa giving up a base hit on a breaking ball he left up glove-side. If Festa can learn to hit low and away consistently on his glove-side with breaking balls against right-handers, his batting average against would go from .260 to a sub-.200. The reason this is predictable is due to Festa’s ability to get ahead of hitters. He often started batters out with first pitch strikes. The elite fastball he pairs with his breaking pitches keeps hitters guessing. In his July 4th start, Festa only pitched two innings due to the forthcoming Futures Game. Overall, Festa showed elite stuff and, if he can learn consistency with his off-speed pitches, the right-hander is sure to find success at the next level.
Nick Frasso - RHP - Los Angeles Dodgers
Game Film: July 8th
Frasso is a tall right-handed pitcher from the 2020 draft class. He was originally drafted by the Blue Jays until being shipped out to the Dodgers last season. It’s been a tale of two halves for Frasso. He was nearly unhittable in the first month and a half, but he’s been a different pitch since returning from a shoulder injury on May 28th. In his start against Wichita on July 8th, he went 3 1/3 innings, while giving up one earned run and fanning six batters. The right-hander was inconsistent in getting ahead of batters with first-pitch strikes and, when he was able to, he would find himself being unable to locate, therefore unable to finish, with his breaking ball. Frasso has a fastball that sits anywhere from 94 to 98 MPH. He has a hard slider that can reach 90 MPH and also includes a changeup. Frasso doesn’t throw a curveball and instead sticks to moving his breaking ball horizontally with a slider. He has a lower release point that gives him some added movement on his pitches.
The video shows one of Frasso’s most efficient outs of the night against Aaron Sabato. In the top of the third inning, with two outs and a runner on first, Frasso’s first pitch to Sabato was a ball. He then followed it up with three straight sliders, all with exceptional movement, earning himself the punch out. This was the best stuff he threw all night. Frasso had difficulty locating his fastball during his outing. Seth Gray took advantage of this in the top of the fourth inning, launching one right down the middle to center field for a homer. Frasso’s night ended, on 57 pitches, with a batter later that same inning. The team is taking things slow with the right-handed arm due to his shoulder ailment. He has elite break on his slider and can light up the radar gun with a plus fastball. His command and control of his pitches needs improvement but, once he gets more outings under his belt now that he is healthy, it projects as something fixable. This is shown in the video linked above. With more time and development, Frasso’s talent can climb through the system in Los Angeles.
Marco Raya - RHP - Minnesota Twins
Game Film: July 7th
July 7th vs Tulsa was Raya’s first ever game at the Double-A level. The 20-year-old right-hander stands at six-foot-one and 170 pounds. Although he isn’t the biggest guy, Raya still manages to throw hard. His fastball averaged in the mid-to-upper-90s and his slider in the upper-80s. He stands on the rubber with his feet angled off towards third base, slides his left foot back towards first base, and separates his hands from his chest on his leg kick. His delivery stays consistent, and he hides the ball well. He would only throw two innings this game, presumably due to him missing all of the last season due to a shoulder tightness, and he’s been plagued with that throughout his career. This is what led the team to keeping a close eye on him throughout the game.
Raya had trouble locating some of his pitches during his two innings. The right-hander walked four batters and struck out three. Raya is young, and his stuff, at times, can look electric. The video linked above shows one of his most dominant sequences of the night. He starts out the right-handed hitter with a fastball painted on the outside corner at 96 MPH. The next pitch was a breaking ball that was called a ball on a check swing down and away. He follows this up by attacking the zone with a slider on the outside edge, which in return was chopped foul. He finished off Lewis by freezing the slugger on an inside corner slider for the punch out. Raya showed in this at-bat how effective his stuff can be when it is utilized in the zone. His fastball, with the great velocity it possesses, can generate swings and misses. The slider he throws has exceptional spin, and the horizontal movement it has fools hitters. He also possesses a slow curveball he uses to keep hitters off balance. With Raya only being 21 years old, the stuff he has at his age projects well. He has a strong arsenal and, with added experience, his control and command are projected to improve.
Nick Nastrini - RHP - Chicago White Sox
Game Film: July 7th
Nick Nastrini was drafted in the fourth round in 2021 by the Dodgers. The right-handed pitcher stands six-foot-three and weighs 215 pounds. Nastrini had spent his entire, albeit short, career with the Dodgers until he was shipped out to the White Sox in a deal for Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly near the trade deadline. Today we’ll focus on an outing Nastrini had with his old team on July 7th against Wichita. The right-hander went 5 2/3rds innings pitched, giving up one earned run, walking four, and striking out seven.
Nastrini has top-of-the-rotation stuff. His fastball is electric and his most used pitch. He throws it with confidence and routinely generates whiffs. He sits near the mid-90s and has reached 98 MPH on the radar gun. Hitters also have a very hard time with his breaking pitches. The spin on his slider creates exceptional horizontal break, leaving batters speechless. His delivery is smooth and consistent, with good hip separation, and he drives hard off his back leg to the plate. His curveball isn’t far off his slider, showing good vertical movement. Control, though, was a factor in this outing. He would lose control of his heater and fall behind in counts, issuing free passes. He countered this flaw by striking out hitters and periodically showing dominant pitch sequences. One of these instances happened, in the video linked above, during the first batter of a game against left-handed hitter DaShawn Keirsey Jr. Nastrini started off by attacking the batter with a fastball for strike one on the inside edge. The next pitch was a breaking ball inside with serious bite that the hitter couldn’t lay off for strike two. On a 0-2 count, Nastrini threw a breaking ball that the hitter was able to get a piece of and pop foul. The right-handed pitcher subsequently finished him off on the next pitch with a fastball on the outside edge for a swinging strikeout. This at-bat stuck out to me due to the level of confidence he had with all his pitches and his willingness to attack hitters with his stuff within the zone. The White Sox received a very talented pitcher in return for Joe Kelly and Lance Lynn, and he could be a force atop their rotation in the coming years.