Given the Twins success with late-round college arms, it wasn’t difficult to imagine Langenberg being the next name to emerge.
He just needed a shift in momentum.
Langenberg didn’t have a great 2023, as his numbers at Iowa took a step back compared to the year prior and he struggled in the three minor league games after signing with the Twins. While he managed to eventually turn the tide in 2024, it took some time.
Langenberg had a 5.75 ERA through his first four starts of last season, but just when it looked like there was little reason to pay him any attention, things clicked. He dominated his next five starts, prompting a promotion to Cedar Rapids.
Langenberg’s overall performance on the season was more solid than spectacular, but we’re talking solid as a diamond here.
He went at least five innings and threw 70 or more pitches basically every time out. That may not sound all that impressive, but here’s a look at how he stacks up against David Festa, Zebby Matthews, Andrew Morris, Cory Lewis and C.J. Culpepper:
While dependability was Langenberg’s calling card in 2024, he also missed plenty of bats. Some of his stats don’t exactly jump off the page at first glance, but Langenberg was a Twins Daily Minor League All-Star and an honorable mention for the site’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year honors.
Here’s a look at how his first exposure to the Midwest League compares to those other arms who’ve recently come through Cedar Rapids:
This is about as apples to apples a comparison as you could make.
All of these stats are from a Kernels pitcher originally drafted out of college in his first full professional season.
Langenberg had a better ERA than Matthews, better WHIP than Morris, a higher K% than Festa, lower BB% than Lewis and was better than Culpepper across the board.
So, what’s Langenberg working with?
He features a balanced five-pitch mix and his best secondary is probably his changeup, though his slider is also coming along nicely.
Here’s a look at some info from a couple of his starts with the Mighty Mussels (Statcast data is not available for Kernels games):
Langenberg tends to pitch backwards, often featuring his slower stuff, but it’s not like he’s a noodle arm.
He touches 95 mph with his four-seam fastball, though it sits more like 93 mph.
That may not be as eye-popping for a starting pitcher as it used to be, but there’s no reason to seriously ding his prospect stock based on a lack of velocity.
Something Langenberg and Morris have in common is a unique arm slot, they just go about it in completely different ways, with Morris having a high slot and Langenberg’s coming from down lower.
With a sidearm action, Langenberg is able to effectively work east-west in the strike zone.
The org seems to generally prefer north-south guys, so Langenberg could make for a nice compliment that offers hitters a contrasting look.
I believe Langenberg deserves more attention, but I haven’t exactly rocketed him up even my own rankings quite yet.
I currently have Langenberg as the No. 28 prospect in the system, but the only other places I’ve seen him ranked are at No. 37 on Aaron Gleeman’s list at The Athletic and No. 38 on Baseball America’s 10 Twins Prospects To Know Beyond The Top 30 in 2025.
I may not be exactly gassing up the Langenberg hype train with my ranking, but he’s a guy I’m comfortable being the outlier on. (For my full 2025 Twins top 50 prospect list, check out the latest issue of We’re Gonna Win, my DIY Twins zine.)
Assuming he follows the footsteps of those before him, expect Langenberg to open 2025 back in Cedar Rapids, but the org will likely want to get him up to Wichita before long.
If Langenberg has any kind of success there, you’ll be hearing a lot more about him.
Double-A is such a proving ground that even guys without big prospect pedigrees tend to garner attention with an impressive performance at that level.
Ty Langenberg has a durable arm, a deep arsenal and is coming off a rock solid 2024. He deserves to be mentioned among the intriguing arms in the Twins pitching pipeline.
