Connor Prielipp

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Minnesota Twins #17 prospect in 2024
  BA Grade: 50/Extreme
  
  Track Record: If you saw Prielipp on the right day, he has been one of those pitchers whose dominance sticks in your brain. Prielipp has flashed the ability to be a front-of-the-rotation starter in his best healthy moments. He began his college career by throwing 26 scoreless innings and appeared to be in the mix to be the no. 1 pick in the 2022 draft. Unfortunately for Prielipp, those moments have been exceedingly fleeting. Since that scoreless streak, he’s thrown just 8.2 innings in the past two seasons. He was shut down because of elbow soreness and had Tommy John surgery in 2021. He pitched in instructional league in 2022 and spring training in 2023, but had further elbow soreness. When a rehab stint ended because of more elbow soreness, he eventually needed internal brace surgery to reinforce his elbow ligament.
  
  Scouting Report: Until Prielipp gets back on the mound and shows he can handle a starting pitcher’s workload, it’s hard to have a comfortable projection on his long-term potential. Prielipp has thrown less than 40 innings in the past four seasons, so he’s got a lot of catching up to do. Pre-injury, he had a plus fastball and a plus-plus slider with above-average control, but it’s difficult to feel confident that he’ll shrug off four seasons of rust and injuries with no ill effects.
  
  The Future: Internal brace surgery usually has a six-month timetable to return to action, so Pirelipp should get to show what he can do in 2024. If he makes a full recovery from his multiple elbow surgeries, he has the highest ceiling of any other pitcher in the Twins system.
  
  Scouting Grades Fastball: 55 | Slider: 60 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 50
• 
  Ranked Minnesota Twins #5 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 55/Extreme
  
  Track Record: Because of the coronavirus pandemic and a 2021 elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery, Prielipp threw just 28 innings for Alabama in three years. He was so impressive when he arrived at Alabama that he earned the Opening Day start as a freshman in the rugged Southeastern Conference. He didn't allow a run in his four starts in 2020 before the pandemic ended the season. He made an effective Opening Day start to begin 2021 but threw just two other innings in two starts before being shut down. Prielipp's recovery from Tommy John surgery allowed him to get back on the mound throwing bullpens before the 2022 draft. The Twins selected him in the second round. While he didn't pitch in a game, he threw in instructional league.
  
  Scouting Report: Before his injury, Prielipp was viewed as one of the best arms in the 2022 draft. His slider has earned plus-plus grades at its best. It's a nearly 3,000 rpm snapdragon that left college hitters baffled. Prielipp's average fastball has touched 95-96 mph but generally sits more in the 92-93 range. The pitch is amplified by Prielipp's arm slot, release point and angle. The lefthander also throws an above-average changeup in the low 80s that has potential to become a weapon against righthanded hitters, but he barely used it in college. In his predraft bullpens, Prielipp looked rusty, but his velocity was fine.
  
  The Future: If Prielipp returns to his pre-injury form, something he hinted at in instructional league, the Twins may have landed a top-of-the-draft pitching prospect with a second-round pick. By Opening Day 2023, he'll be nearly two years removed from Tommy John surgery and should be ready for an assignment to High-A Cedar Rapids. As impressive as Prielipp has been when healthy, he's a Wisconsin prep product with very few innings of experience, which may influence how quickly he moves.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60. Slider: 70. Changeup: 55. Control: 55

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #37 prospect in 2022 draft
  School: Alabama Committed/Drafted: Red Sox ’19 (37)
  Age At Draft: 21.5
  BA Grade: 55/Extreme
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60 | Curveball: - | Slider: 70 | Changeup: 55 | Cutter: | Control: 55
  Through the first seven starts of Prielipp’s Alabama career, he looked like a player who was a lock to be a top-10 draft pick, showing a mid-90s fastball from the left side and two overwhelming secondary offerings. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound southpaw posted a 0.96 ERA over those 28 innings of work, while striking out 47 batters (45.6 K%) and walking just 12 (11.7 BB%). Unfortunately, those would be all the games Prielipp threw before the 2022 draft, as Tommy John surgery cut his sophomore 2021 season short after his first three starts, leaving his draft status in flux and reliant on pre-draft bullpens. Prior to his injury, Prielipp pitched in the 91-93 mph range and touched 96, with a mid-80s slider that generated whiffs 50% of the time and a low-80s changeup that racked up plenty of whiffs as well, though his usage of the pitch was much less frequent than his fastball/slider combination. His slider is an extremely high-spin offering, and some scouts have called it a legitimate 70-grade offering. During a May bullpen, Prielipp showed solid stuff, though he wasn’t quite as crisp as his pre-injury self. He touched 93-94 in that session, snapping off a few good breaking balls in the 82-84 mph range and an 82-83 mph changeup. He showed solid control, but scattered command within the zone. On pure stuff, Prielipp stacks up with the most talented pitchers in the class, but with a very limited track record, Prielipp is still a bit of a draft wild card.

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 55/Extreme
  
  Track Record: Because of the coronavirus pandemic and a 2021 elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery, Prielipp threw just 28 innings for Alabama in three years. He was so impressive when he arrived at Alabama that he earned the Opening Day start as a freshman in the rugged Southeastern Conference. He didn't allow a run in his four starts in 2020 before the pandemic ended the season. He made an effective Opening Day start to begin 2021 but threw just two other innings in two starts before being shut down. Prielipp's recovery from Tommy John surgery allowed him to get back on the mound throwing bullpens before the 2022 draft. The Twins selected him in the second round. While he didn't pitch in a game, he threw in instructional league.
  
  Scouting Report: Before his injury, Prielipp was viewed as one of the best arms in the 2022 draft. His slider has earned plus-plus grades at its best. It's a nearly 3,000 rpm snapdragon that left college hitters baffled. Prielipp's average fastball has touched 95-96 mph but generally sits more in the 92-93 range. The pitch is amplified by Prielipp's arm slot, release point and angle. The lefthander also throws an above-average changeup in the low 80s that has potential to become a weapon against righthanded hitters, but he barely used it in college. In his predraft bullpens, Prielipp looked rusty, but his velocity was fine.
  
  The Future: If Prielipp returns to his pre-injury form, something he hinted at in instructional league, the Twins may have landed a top-of-the-draft pitching prospect with a second-round pick. By Opening Day 2023, he'll be nearly two years removed from Tommy John surgery and should be ready for an assignment to High-A Cedar Rapids. As impressive as Prielipp has been when healthy, he's a Wisconsin prep product with very few innings of experience, which may influence how quickly he moves.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60. Slider: 70. Changeup: 55. Control: 55
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 55/Extreme
  
  Track Record: Because of the coronavirus pandemic and a 2021 elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery, Prielipp threw just 28 innings for Alabama in three years. He was so impressive when he arrived at Alabama that he earned the Opening Day start as a freshman in the rugged Southeastern Conference. He didn't allow a run in his four starts in 2020 before the pandemic ended the season. He made an effective Opening Day start to begin 2021 but threw just two other innings in two starts before being shut down. Prielipp's recovery from Tommy John surgery allowed him to get back on the mound throwing bullpens before the 2022 draft. The Twins selected him in the second round. While he didn't pitch in a game, he threw in instructional league.
  
  Scouting Report: Before his injury, Prielipp was viewed as one of the best arms in the 2022 draft. His slider has earned plus-plus grades at its best. It's a nearly 3,000 rpm snapdragon that left college hitters baffled. Prielipp's average fastball has touched 95-96 mph but generally sits more in the 92-93 range. The pitch is amplified by Prielipp's arm slot, release point and angle. The lefthander also throws an above-average changeup in the low 80s that has potential to become a weapon against righthanded hitters, but he barely used it in college. In his predraft bullpens, Prielipp looked rusty, but his velocity was fine.
  
  The Future: If Prielipp returns to his pre-injury form, something he hinted at in instructional league, the Twins may have landed a top-of-the-draft pitching prospect with a second-round pick. By Opening Day 2023, he'll be nearly two years removed from Tommy John surgery and should be ready for an assignment to High-A Cedar Rapids. As impressive as Prielipp has been when healthy, he's a Wisconsin prep product with very few innings of experience, which may influence how quickly he moves.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60. Slider: 70. Changeup: 55. Control: 55
• April, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade: 55/Extreme
  
  August Update: Through the first seven starts of Prielipp&#39s Alabama career, he looked like a player who was a lock to be a top-10 draft pick, showing a mid-90s fastball from the left side and two overwhelming secondary offerings. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound southpaw posted a 0.96 ERA over those 28 innings of work, while striking out 47 batters (45.6 K%) and walking just 12 (11.7 BB%). Unfortunately, those would be all the games Prielipp threw before the 2022 draft, as Tommy John surgery cut his sophomore 2021 season short after his first three starts, leaving his draft status in flux and reliant on pre-draft bullpens. Prior to his injury, Prielipp pitched in the 91-93 mph range and touched 96, with a mid-80s slider that generated whiffs 50% of the time and a low-80s changeup that racked up plenty of whiffs as well, though his usage of the pitch was much less frequent than his fastball/slider combination. His slider is an extremely high-spin offering, and some scouts have called it a legitimate 70-grade offering. During a May bullpen, Prielipp showed solid stuff, though he wasn&#39t quite as crisp as his pre-injury self. He touched 93-94 in that session, snapping off a few good breaking balls in the 82-84 mph range and an 82-83 mph changeup. He showed solid control, but scattered command within the zone.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60 Slider: 70 Changeup: 55 Control: 55.