Now that rookie Connor Prielipp has five major-league starts under his belt, let's dig deeper into how the 25-year-old left-hander has looked for the Twins so far.
First, the basics: Prielipp has been really, really good. Called up from Triple-A St. Paul ahead of schedule on April 22 because injuries wiped out the Twins' rotation depth, Prielipp has a 2.88 ERA and 29-to-9 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 25 innings while holding opponents to a .169 batting average.
After going just four innings versus the Mets in his big-league debut, Prielipp has completed at least five innings in each of his subsequent four outings, including a professional career-high six innings most recently Saturday against the Brewers. He's looked every bit like the Twins' reigning minor league pitcher of the year.
Prielipp's control has been shaky at times, which is to be expected for a rookie, but he's done a nice job wriggling out of jams and avoiding big blowups despite some less-than-stellar fielding plays behind him upping the degree of difficulty. Both the numbers and the eye test paint a very promising early picture.