TODAY: The Twins designated right-hander Jake Jewell for assignment, as Varland’s selection is now official. Jewell had just been claimed off waivers from the Guardians three weeks ago,
SEPTEMBER 6: The Twins are calling up one of the top pitching prospects in their system, as they’ll select the contract of right-hander Louie Varland to make his big league debut Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium, per Patrick Reusse of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (Twitter link).
Varland’s call to the Majors continues a nice development story for a North St. Paul native who’ll now suit up for his hometown club. He’s one of just four players ever to be drafted out of Division-II Concordia University in St. Paul — older brother Gus Varland, currently in the Dodgers’ system, is another — and the Twins grabbed him well down the board, in the 15th round. (The Varland brothers, just one year apart in age, faced off against one another earlier this season, when both started the same game for their respective teams’ Double-A affiliates.) The younger Varland pitched just 8 2/3 innings in the Twins organization in 2019 after being drafted and didn’t pitch in 2020, when there was no minor league season.
A D-II 15th-round pick with 8 2/3 professional innings (all coming in Rookie ball) obviously isn’t going to carry much prospect fanfare, but Varland erupted with a 2021 breakout that saw him named the Twins organization’s minor league pitcher of the year. Beginning the season in Class-A Fort Myers, Varland came roaring out of the gates with a 2.09 ERA and a massive 38% strikeout rate before being promoted to High-A Cedar Rapids, where he largely repeated that success. In 55 2/3 frames with the Kernels, he posted a 2.10 ERA with a 29.9% strikeout rate. Varland walked just 7.1% of his opponents between the two levels, and by the conclusion of the ’21 season, he featured prominently among Twins prospect rankings.
It’s been more of the same for Varland in 2022 — this time between Double-A (105 innings, 3.34 ERA, 26.4% strikeout rate) and Triple-A (21 1/3 innings, 1.69 ERA, 32.1% strikeout rate). The right-hander explained to FanGraphs’ David Laurila this time last year that despite throwing just 90-92 mph during his college days, he’s now sitting 94-95 mph and peaking in the upper 90s after working with the Twins’ development staff.
“I would put it to our pitching coordinators and the pitching coaches with my teams,” Varland told Laurila. “But also Martijn [Verhoeven], our [motion performance] coach. He really cleaned up my mechanics so that I could pitch with an efficient arm path. That was really the root of it all; everything has stemmed from that.”
The results speak for themselves, as Varland has ascended from obscurity to the Major Leagues in short order — and with a career 2.61 ERA, 30% strikeout rate and 7.6% walk rate in the minor leagues. MLB.com ranks him 10th among Twins prospects, while Baseball America has him listed 16th and FanGraphs at No. 25. Varland complements a high-spin four-seamer that now draws plus grades with a trio of offspeed offerings: a changeup, a slider and a seldom-used curveball. Both the changeup and slider have potential to be above-average pitches, per that group of scouting reports, with MLB.com suggesting the changeup is already there. He’ll be controllable through at least the 2028 season.
Once he’s formally selected to the roster — which may not happen until tomorrow, if he is indeed slated for a Wednesday debut — Varland will immediately join the Twins’ rotation mix for the remainder of the season and for the 2023 campaign as well. He’ll have a full slate of three minor league option years, meaning he could be moved up and down on an as-needed basis for awhile he doesn’t immediately seize a starting job. And, with the reworked arm slot and mechanics unlocking some additional velocity, it remains possible that Varland could eventually end up a hard-throwing bullpen piece, should a role in the rotation not pan out.
Twins need to watch the townball playoffs for starting pitching. Pretty tiresome to see the reclamation projects brought in to throw 50 pitches before the pen doesn’t close the deal.
Twins have the most asinine pitching model in the league. Misunderstanding the 3rd time through statistics to make it a blanket policy across the team, only to fill in their entire bullpen with dumpster diving (until the trade deadline this year). You can’t pull a starter, regardless of how good they are, early every single day unless your bullpen is actually really good and you have enough guys to cover 4-5 innings every single game. And the twins don’t have that and their bullpen stats reflect it
phantomofdb;
They had a very good pitching coach, but he went back to college.
Am watching Jorge Lopez. The O’s turned him into not just a good bullpen arm, but an elite closer. They had multiple people working with him constantly. He trusted and listened to them. They believed in him and understood how he thought, what he wanted to accomplish, and how they could keep him on track. In time I expect he’ll be a different pitcher with the Twins.
Coaching matters in MLB today the same way it does in the NFL. MLB’s head Pitching Coach and head Hitting Coach are analogous to the NFL’s Offensive Coordinators and Defensive Coordinators. MLB has other coaches working with the pitchers and hitters that are analogous to the NFL’s position coaches. That’s what MLB has been like for a while as all franchises catch up with the ground breakers.
Am not impressed with the Twins overall pitching department.
Micro managing analytics for every game, player and situation has not worked for the Twins. A book will not be written to honor the current leadership group.
Stan Konit;
Agreed.
Some FO’s get it. Some don’t. There is a human element that many are not good at.
It’s like stock market investing. For decades it was based on fundamental analysis: what a companies products are, where they are are in their market (i.e. competition), their financial situation, etc. Post-WWII Joseph Granville developed statistical analysis at E.F.Hutton. He ignored a companies fundamentals and just looked that the price action of their stock over a period of time: was volume heavy when the stock moved one way of the other, was it reacting to news, etc. – to try to decipher the trend it was on and would ride the trend until it broke. As stock market technical analysis further sophisticated to a point where all brokerage firms had in-house departments, those that proved most successful combined both the fundamental and technical strategies.
The Twins are one of many franchises: Rangers, Rockies, White Sox, Yankees, Angels, Rockies, Marlins and others that I can’t pick up a pattern in what they’re trying to do. Sometimes they’re good for a season or two, then they go the other way. Then there are the Padres, A’s, Giants and others that I know what they’re doing, but while it doesn’t seem to work for long they continue to do the same thing in cycles.
The Twins are in a trading range. Wake me up when they break out of it one way or the other.
Why? Their toast
Their toast is what?
It’s over they’re
Obviously copying the Guardians model
Guards have spent $30 million less and don’t have an overpaid, average performing SS.
We also don’t have a $15M outfielder who spends nearly half a season on the IL every year
LOUIE mthr Fckn Varland
You are not prepared !!!
For the wrath is soon upon you.
Aside from judge
He’ll stock his prey like an animal from the mound
I picture the knob wearing his stirrups backward.
Seeing as how he’s making his debut in Yankee Stadium and it’s a doubleheader (where OBTW the Twins have only won 20 times in 21 years) I’m thinking he’ll give up 5 runs in 3 innings or less and the Twins will get swept.
The Yankees lineup is pretty pathetic at the moment, so who knows what will happen.
Up 3-1 through 5; 72 pitches, 2 hits w/6 Ks, 17 batters. Gave up a homer to Judge.
Uncharacteristically allowed to pitch the 6th.
And next chucker gives up tater for tie game.
And for those keeping score, sent back to AAA between doubleheader games.
No free service time for you.