Griffin Jax

Griffin Jax

28-Year-Old PitcherRP
Minnesota Twins
2023 Fantasy Outlook
After making 14 starts during his rookie 2021 season, Jax transitioned to full-time relief last year. He didn't make the Twins' Opening Day roster, but was recalled a few days after the season started and quickly settled into his new multi-inning role out of the bullpen. Increased velocity (+2.8 mph on average) and a pitch mix adjustment followed the role change, as Jax's slider (48% usage) replaced his 4-seamer (34%) as his primary offering. The 28-year-old improved both his strikeout (26.9%) and walk (6.9%) rates with a 78:20 K:BB ratio over 72.1 innings. He also induced grounders at a 47.3% rate to create a profile that should be on deeper mixed league radars regardless of role. Jax quickly ascended Minnesota's leverage ladder and became one of their primary setup men, tying for the team lead with 18 holds. Expect plenty of volume - Jax was 11th among qualified relievers with 72.1 innings - along with decent ratios and potentially even saves in 2023. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
#593
ADP
$Signed a one-year contract with the Twins in June of 2021.
Working on new pitch
PMinnesota Twins
February 27, 2023
Jax threw a scoreless inning with a strikeout and a walk in his spring debut Monday. Jax has introduced a new pitch this spring, a cutter, which he worked on at Driveline in the offseason, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.
ANALYSIS
Jax will likely use the cutter as a rare change of pace, as his primary off-speed pitch, a slider, held opponents to a .187 batting average against last season. Jax had a breakout season after moving to the bullpen and became a key setup man for the Twins. He improved both his strikeout (26.9 percent) and walk (6.9 percent) rates with a 78:20 K:BB ratio over 72.1 innings. He also induced grounders at a 47.3 percent rate and had 18 holds. He should be a good source of holds again, and possibly some saves, in Minnesota's bullpen.
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Pitching Stats
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2022
2021
2022 MLB Game Log
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Scoring
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2021 MLB Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
18
Last 10 Games
15
Last 5 Games
17
How many pitches does Griffin Jax 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 Griffin Jax 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 2020
 
 
-6%
BAA vs LHP
2022
 
 
-16%
BAA vs LHP
2021
 
 
-2%
BAA vs LHP
2020
No Stats
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2020vs Left .227 247 47 24 49 13 0 10
Since 2020vs Right .242 403 96 25 89 15 2 20
2022vs Left .189 103 23 9 17 2 0 3
2022vs Right .224 187 55 11 39 5 2 4
2021vs Left .254 144 24 15 32 11 0 7
2021vs Right .258 216 41 14 50 10 0 16
2020vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2020vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2020
 
 
-10%
ERA on Road
2022
 
 
-35%
ERA on Road
2021
 
 
-2%
ERA at Home
2020
No Stats
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2020Home 5.22 1.24 79.1 7 6 1 8.7 2.8 1.8
Since 2020Away 4.68 1.19 75.0 4 3 0 7.9 2.9 1.7
2022Home 4.03 1.13 38.0 5 3 1 10.7 3.6 0.9
2022Away 2.62 0.96 34.1 2 1 0 8.7 1.3 0.8
2021Home 6.31 1.33 41.1 2 3 0 7.0 2.2 2.6
2021Away 6.42 1.38 40.2 2 2 0 7.3 4.2 2.4
2020Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2020Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Griffin Jax compare to other relievers?
This section compares his stats with all relief pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 30 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 30 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
3.90
 
K/9
9.7
 
BB/9
2.5
 
HR/9
0.9
 
Fastball
95.5 mph
 
ERA
3.36
 
WHIP
1.05
 
BABIP
.280
 
GB/FB
1.62
 
Left On Base
71.0%
 
Exit Velocity
81.2 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
4.1%
 
Spin Rate
2523 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
22.9%
 
Swinging Strike
13.5%
 
Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Griffin Jax See More
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12 days ago
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27 days ago
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117 days ago
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180 days ago
Jason Collette advocates for more experimentation with scoring setups in order to give fantasy relevance to a larger pool of pitchers.
Closer Encounters: Trade Deadline Upheaval
236 days ago
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2022
2021
Jax put together an up-and-down rookie campaign with a 6.37 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 65:29 K:BB across 82 innings. After starting 14 games in 2021, he'll move to the bullpen and try to win a middle relief role. Moving forward, he'll need to do a better job of keeping the ball in the park to find sustained success, as his 2.52 HR/9 in 2021 ranked third-highest among pitchers who threw at least 50 innings. He's had good control in the minors and success despite mediocre strikeout rates. He could be a late bloomer at age 27, as he threw just 40 minor league games from 2016 to 2019 as his ability to play minor league baseball was severely limited by Air Force obligations.
Jax, a 2016 third-round draft pick, pitched in just 40 minor league games from 2016 to 2019 as his ability to play minor league baseball was severely limited by Air Force obligations. While he's a bit old for a prospect (26 this season), he's shown promise at higher levels with a 2.67 ERA and 1.94 BB/9 at Double-A in 2019. He hasn't had great strikeout rates (6.7 K/9 in 2019), However. Still, he's still a bit of an unknown given his sparse minor league career. Minnesota should get a better picture with a full season in 2020. He could add rotation depth at Triple-A if all goes well.
More Fantasy News
Records 10th hold
PMinnesota Twins
July 31, 2022
Jax threw a scoreless inning while striking out one batter over two-thirds of an inning in Saturday's 7-4 win over the Padres to earn his 10th hold.
ANALYSIS
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Earns second win
PMinnesota Twins
May 7, 2022
Jax (2-0) picked up the win Saturday against the Athletics, striking out two while allowing one hit across 1.2 scoreless innings.
ANALYSIS
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Picks up first career save
PMinnesota Twins
April 28, 2022
Jax earned the save, tossing three scoreless innings and striking out two while allowing two hits, a walk and a hit batsman in a 7-1 win over Detroit.
ANALYSIS
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Returns to big club
PMinnesota Twins
April 12, 2022
The Twins recalled Jax from Triple-A St. Paul on Tuesday.
ANALYSIS
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Optioned to Triple-A
PMinnesota Twins
April 7, 2022
The Twins optioned Jax to Triple-A St. Paul on Thursday, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
ANALYSIS
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