Tomah High School alumnus Connor Prielipp, 25, will toe the mound for the Minnesota Twins on Saturday, May 16, facing off with the Milwaukee Brewers in Minneapolis.
It’ll the left-hander’s fifth start for the Twins. He has a 1-1 record and a 3.32 ERA in four starts, with 21 strikeouts in 19 innings and a cool 1.00 WHIP.
The Twins, however, have lost three of his four starts, with errors and bullpen struggles contributing to those setbacks. Here’s what to know about Prielipp:
Where is Wisconsin native Connor Prielipp from?
Prielipp went to Tomah, which is west of Wisconsin Dells in the heart of the state and not far from La Crosse. It’s about equidistant between Milwaukee and Minneapolis, about 175 miles away from each.
He was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Wisconsin in 2019 and was selected in the 37th round of the 2019 draft by the Boston Red Sox, but went to college instead.
Where did Connor Prielipp pitch in college?
Prielipp pitched for Alabama, but not all that much. His 2020 season was dramatically shortened by COVID-19, then he had Tommy John surgery in 2021 after pitching only a few innings. He didn’t pitch in 2022, electing to finish his rehab and prepare for the draft.
All told, he only pitched 28 innings at Alabama over seven appearances.
That didn’t keep him from getting drafted in the second round of the 2022 draft by the Twins.
How did Connor Prielipp fare in the minor leagues?
Prielipp underwent a second Tommy John surgery after joining the Twins in 2023, meaning his career began slowly. He was able to pitch in nine games in 2024, posting a 2.70 ERA between multiple levels of the Twins organization, including Advanced Class A. In 2025, he pitched at Double-A (3.65 ERA in 19 starts) and Triple-A (5.14 ERA in five games).
After posting a 2.30 ERA in four outings at AAA this year, Prielipp was called up to the big-league roster.
When is the last time the Brewers faced a Wisconsinite starting pitcher?
It’s actually been a while since the Brewers faced a Wisconsin pitcher at all, not counting Milwaukee-born reliever Pete Fairbanks, who didn’t attend high school in the state.
The Brewers saw Ben Heller, a Whitewater High School alumnus, twice during the 2023 season when he was a reliever for Atlanta.
In 2019, the Brewers faced New Berlin Eisenhower graduate Alex McRae, who made starts for Pittsburgh but appeared against Milwaukee as a reliever. They also faced Pat Neshek, born in Madison but a high-school attendee in Minnesota.
The Brewers last faced a Wisconsinite starter in 2018 against Jordan Zimmermann, then of Detroit. He went to Auburndale High School and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point before a long career with the Nationals, one that ended with a short stint in Milwaukee in 2021.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers will face Wisconsin native pitcher Connor Prielipp vs Twins
