Louie Varland

Louie Varland

26-Year-Old PitcherSP
Minnesota Twins
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
RANKS
Rest of Season From Preseason
#305
ADP
$Signed a one-year contract with the Twins in March of 2024.
Moving to bullpen
PMinnesota Twins
September 6, 2024
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.
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Pitching Stats
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2024
2023
2022
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2023 MLB Game Log
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2022 MLB 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+
 
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+
 
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
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
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
2023
 
 
-24%
BAA vs LHP
2022
Even Split
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2022vs Left .271 266 63 15 67 8 2 12
Since 2022vs Right .284 361 78 24 93 12 3 20
2024vs Left .325 123 26 6 37 4 0 6
2024vs Right .310 115 23 10 31 4 0 6
2023vs Left .209 99 28 7 19 1 2 5
2023vs Right .275 184 43 10 47 6 2 11
2022vs Left .262 44 9 2 11 3 0 1
2022vs Right .263 62 12 4 15 2 1 3
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2022
 
 
-4%
ERA on Road
2024
 
 
-25%
ERA at Home
2023
 
 
-3%
ERA at Home
2022
 
 
-17%
ERA on Road
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2022Home 5.62 1.38 75.1 2 6 0 8.5 2.3 2.2
Since 2022Away 5.40 1.39 68.1 3 5 0 9.2 2.6 1.8
2024Home 6.94 1.63 35.0 0 3 0 8.7 2.8 2.1
2024Away 9.20 1.84 14.2 0 3 0 9.2 3.1 2.5
2023Home 4.55 1.15 29.2 2 2 0 9.4 1.5 2.4
2023Away 4.70 1.28 38.1 2 1 0 9.4 2.8 1.9
2022Home 4.22 1.22 10.2 0 1 0 5.1 2.5 1.7
2022Away 3.52 1.24 15.1 1 1 0 8.8 1.8 1.2
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.
  • K/BB
    Strikeout to walk ratio.
  • K/9
    Average strikeouts per nine innings.
  • BB/9
    Average walks per nine innings.
  • HR/9
    Average home runs allowed per nine innings.
  • Fastball
    Average fastball velocity.
  • ERA
    Earned run average. The average earned runs allowed per nine innings.
  • WHIP
    Walks plus hits per inning pitched.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many balls in play against a pitcher go for hits.
  • GB/FB
    Groundball to flyball ratio. The higher the number, the more likely a pitcher is to induce groundballs.
  • Left On Base
    The percentage of base runners that a pitcher strands on base over the course of a season.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Barrels/BBE
    The percentage of batted ball events resulting in a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Spin Rate
    Spin Rate is the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
  • Balls Hit 95+ MPH
    The percentage of batted balls hit that met or exceeded the 95 MPH threshold.
  • Swinging Strike
    The percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss.
K/BB
3.06
 
K/9
8.9
 
BB/9
2.9
 
HR/9
2.2
 
Fastball
96.1 mph
 
ERA
7.61
 
WHIP
1.69
 
BABIP
.381
 
GB/FB
1.43
 
Left On Base
59.5%
 
Exit Velocity
83.5 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
4.5%
 
Spin Rate
2216 rpm
 
Balls 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
PMinnesota Twins
September 5, 2024
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
PMinnesota Twins
September 4, 2024
The Twins recalled Varland from Triple-A St. Paul on Wednesday.
ANALYSIS
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Could start Wednesday for big club
PMinnesota Twins
September 2, 2024
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
PMinnesota Twins
August 28, 2024
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
PMinnesota Twins
August 15, 2024
The Twins optioned Varland to Triple-A St. Paul on Thursday.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Opening in rotation
PMinnesota Twins
June 25, 2024
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.
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