Louie Varland
26-Year-Old
2024 Stats
W-L
0-6
ERA
7.61
WHIP
1.69
K
49
SV
0
Rest-of-Season Projections
2024 Fantasy Outlook
Varland's improved velocity turned him into a late-season weapon out of the bullpen and has put him in contention for a prominent role in 2024 - but it's not clear whether that will be in the rotation or bullpen. Varland's improved velocity (up to 95.3 mph average fastball from 93.9 mph in the majors the previous season) resulted in a strong year at Triple-A with a 9.8 K/9 and 3.97 ERA and 3.32 FIP. He was called up early in the season as a starter and had initial success with a 3.51 ERA in seven starts, but then gave up 17 runs in 15 innings in his next three starts and was sent to the minors in June. He was called up to the bullpen in September and was a dominant reliever with a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings with a 17:1 K:BB ratio with a fastball that touched triple digits. Varland has said he'd like to remain a starter, but it will be hard for the Twins to keep him out of the bullpen given his success. Still, he's in the mix for the fifth starter role this spring. Read Past Outlooks
Moving to bullpen
Varland is expected to be used in a traditional relief role down the stretch, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
It had previously seemed as though the Twins were considering a quasi six-man rotation with Varland included as a bulk reliever, but he pitched his way out of that conversation in a hurry. Varland gave up eight runs on five hits and a walk over 2.1 innings against the Rays on Wednesday, bringing his ERA to 7.62 through 39 innings with the major-league team this season.
It had previously seemed as though the Twins were considering a quasi six-man rotation with Varland included as a bulk reliever, but he pitched his way out of that conversation in a hurry. Varland gave up eight runs on five hits and a walk over 2.1 innings against the Rays on Wednesday, bringing his ERA to 7.62 through 39 innings with the major-league team this season.
Pitching Stats
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2024
2023
2022
Minor League Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
56
Last 10 Games
43
Last 5 Games
25
How many pitches does Louie Varland generally throw?
1-10
11-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
61-70
71-80
81-90
91-100
101-110
111-120
121+
What part of the game does Louie Varland generally pitch?
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2022
-5%
BAA vs LHP
2024
-5%
BAA vs RHP
BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2022vs Left | .271 | 63 | 15 | 67 | 12 | |||
Since 2022vs Right | .284 | 78 | 24 | 93 | 20 | |||
2024vs Left | .325 | 26 | 6 | 37 | 6 | |||
2024vs Right | .310 | 23 | 10 | 31 | 6 | |||
2023vs Left | .209 | 28 | 7 | 19 | 5 | |||
2023vs Right | .275 | 43 | 10 | 47 | 11 | |||
2022vs Left | .262 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 1 | |||
2022vs Right | .263 | 12 | 4 | 15 | 3 | |||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2022
-4%
ERA on Road
2024
-25%
ERA at Home
ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2022Home | 5.62 | 1.38 | 75.1 | 8.5 | 2.3 | ||||
Since 2022Away | 5.40 | 1.39 | 68.1 | 9.2 | 2.6 | ||||
2024Home | 6.94 | 1.63 | 35.0 | 8.7 | 2.8 | ||||
2024Away | 9.20 | 1.84 | 14.2 | 9.2 | 3.1 | ||||
2023Home | 4.55 | 1.15 | 29.2 | 9.4 | 1.5 | ||||
2023Away | 4.70 | 1.28 | 38.1 | 9.4 | 2.8 | ||||
2022Home | 4.22 | 1.22 | 10.2 | 5.1 | 2.5 | ||||
2022Away | 3.52 | 1.24 | 15.1 | 8.8 | 1.8 | ||||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Stat Review
How does Louie Varland compare to other starting pitchers?
This section compares his stats with all starting pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 120 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
K/BB
3.06K/9
8.9BB/9
2.9HR/9
2.2Fastball
96.1 mphERA
7.61WHIP
1.69BABIP
.381GB/FB
1.43Left On Base
59.5%Exit Velocity
83.5 mphBarrels/BBE
4.5%Spin Rate
2216 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
26.0%Swinging Strike
11.2%Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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2023 Fantasy Outlook
Varland was an unheralded 2019 15th-round draft pick out of local Division II Concordia in Minnesota, but made a big leap in 2021 thanks to a large uptick in velocity (to a mid-90s fastball). That bought him a ticket to Double-A to begin 2022 where he impressed with a 3.34 ERA, 119:39 K:BB and 1.34 WHIP in 105 innings over 20 appearances (19 starts). He soon was in the majors for five starts late in the season where he held his own (3.81 ERA and 4.30 FIP). While he had just a 7.2 K/9 in the majors, he had a 10.2 K/9 or higher at every level of the minors. Varland has good control (2.1 BB/9 in the majors and 3.1 BB/9 at Double-A) and keeps hitters off balance with solid change-up and slider off-speed pitches. He'll compete for a rotation spot this spring but may need more time at Triple-A. He could surprise given how he's overachieved at every level so far in his career.
More Fantasy News
Disastrous outing as bulk reliever
Varland (0-6) took the loss Wednesday, surrendering eight runs on five hits and a walk over 2.1 relief innings as the Twins were downed 9-4 by the Rays. He struck out one.
ANALYSIS
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Recalled, should work in bulk relief
The Twins recalled Varland from Triple-A St. Paul on Wednesday.
ANALYSIS
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Could start Wednesday for big club
Varland may be a candidate for a promotion from Triple-A St. Paul to fill the opening in the Twins rotation Wednesday at Tampa Bay, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Used as reliever
Varland threw five scoreless innings with nine strikeouts in a relief appearance Wednesday for Triple-A St. Paul. It was his first relief appearance in the minors this season.
ANALYSIS
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Returns to minors
The Twins optioned Varland to Triple-A St. Paul on Thursday.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Opening in rotation
Varland could be in the mix to enter the Twins' starting rotation after Chris Paddack was placed on the 15-day injured list Tuesday with right arm fatigue.
ANALYSIS
Varland opened the campaign in Minnesota's rotation but was demoted to Triple-A St. Paul in late April after he gave up 17 earned runs and six homers in his first four starts. The right-hander rejoined the Twins for two appearances in mid-June and allowed two runs across 9.1 frames, but he was sent back down and surrendered five homers in his first start back with St. Paul. That likely makes Caleb Boushley the more attractive option to step into the big-league rotation.
Varland opened the campaign in Minnesota's rotation but was demoted to Triple-A St. Paul in late April after he gave up 17 earned runs and six homers in his first four starts. The right-hander rejoined the Twins for two appearances in mid-June and allowed two runs across 9.1 frames, but he was sent back down and surrendered five homers in his first start back with St. Paul. That likely makes Caleb Boushley the more attractive option to step into the big-league rotation.