Prospect News: Festa Full Of Tricks or Zac Veen Finds A Cure

Phillies RHP George Klassen (22, A) was not particularly effective as a college pitcher, posting ERAs of 5.72 and 14.09 in his two seasons as a Golden Gopher in Minnesota. Nonetheless, he showed enough plus stuff for the Phillies to select him in the sixth round of the 2023 draft. When he started generating hype this spring as a pitch-lab find for Philadelphia, I was skeptical because it’s hard to just hand-wave those kinds of outcomes. Plus, 22-year-old college pitchers should fare well against Low-A hitters. Even so, Klassen’s gone full Pickle Rick this year. His 0.33 ERA, 0.67 WHIP and 34.3 percent strikeout-minus-walk rate are eye-popping numbers that suggest he’s already graduated from that level, skills wise. He might be in High-A right now if not for a short trip to the injured list. His three-pix mix now includes a four-seam fastball at about 98, a cutter at ~90 and a curveball at ~86; all three play as plus. 

Twins RHP David Festa (25, AAA) has the highest strikeout rate in Triple-A. Listed at 6’6” 185 lbs, he’s got room to continue adding strength, a frightening proposition considering he’s already hitting the high 90’s. He uses his height well on the mound in the sense that he gets great extension on his release point (6.9 feet), and his three-quarters angle helps his fastball play well up in the zone. Control has been an issue these past couple years (13% BB) as he has tinkered and added velo, but he’ll have every chance to refine his feel and settle into his approach. He’ll use a slider and changeup against lefties and lean on his slider against righties. While fastball command hasn’t been his strength this year, off-speed command has been there for him from the jump. If right-handed bats get behind in the count, Festa spams sliders low and outside until he has to sneak up and in with a heater. Lefties have to face back foot sliders, backdoor sliders and fading changeups down and out. It’s an approach that should work well against big leaguers if the fastball is with him. 

After two partial seasons truncated by injury, Rockies OF Zac Veen (22, AA) is having the kind of season dynasty players have been expecting from him since Colorado took him with the ninth pick of the 2020 draft. He’s slashing .326/.418/.568 with five home runs and nine stolen bases in 28 games. It’s his third season in Double-A, but he’s played just 108 games at the level. I wouldn’t have picked him as a redraft option heading into the season, but I think he’ll be in Triple-A soon, and the team seems to have little interest in playing Sean Bouchard, so Veen might be next on the call sheet. The Rockies are tough to predict in the prospect realm, which is a sentence I’m writing even though I suspect everyone knows this about the Rockies. 

Part of the trade return for RHP Gregory Santos, White Sox OF Zach DeLoach (25) has heated up over the past couple weeks and was rewarded today with a promotion to the big league club. In 138 games with Seattle’s Triple-A team last year, DeLoach slashed .286/.387/.481 with 23 home runs and eight stolen bases. He hasn’t been hitting quite as well in the early going but does have eight steals in just 38 games. The White Sox are unpredictable at the moment, so DeLoach could be a bench piece for a stretch while Eloy Jimenez is hurt, or he could be a lineup regular for the rest of the season. 

Cardinals LHP Quinn Mathews (23, A+) made a smooth transition to a new league this week, striking out 11 High-A hitters and allowing one run over seven innings pitched. At 6’5” 188 lbs, Mathews was a fourth round pick out of Stanford in the 2023 draft and has shredded professional hitting to this point. In 37.2 innings across two levels, he has 63 strikeouts with a 1.43 ERA and 0.77 WHIP. Again, college pitchers should be ahead of hitters in Low-A, but it’s notable when someone is so far ahead and then jumps a league and generates the same results. 

Another 6 ‘5” lefty, Royals LHP Chandler Champlain (24, AA) is on a roll, recording back-to-back shutout outings covering six innings or more, bringing his ERA down to 1.27 over the past month. Over this five-start stretch, he has 38 strikeouts in 28.1 innings with a 0.71 WHIP. Should be in Triple-A by June. 

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