Louie Varland
26-Year-Old
2024 Stats
W-L
0-3
ERA
8.36
WHIP
2.07
K
16
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
Saddled with another loss
Varland (0-3) allowed six runs (four earned) on 11 hits over five innings to take the loss Monday against the Orioles. He struck out six.
ANALYSIS
Varland's five-inning effort did not include a clean inning and included three separate innings in which he allowed two runs, though neither of the runs scored in the first inning were earned. Varland has failed to make it past five innings in any start this year, earning the loss in all three, with Monday's 11 hits allowed representing a career high. Varland won a job in the Twins rotation after having allowed zero runs in the spring but has allowed 13 earned runs over 14 innings thus far for an ERA of 8.36 with a 2.07 WHIP. He'll look to turn things around in his next start, tentatively slated to take place over the weekend in Detroit against the Tigers.
Varland's five-inning effort did not include a clean inning and included three separate innings in which he allowed two runs, though neither of the runs scored in the first inning were earned. Varland has failed to make it past five innings in any start this year, earning the loss in all three, with Monday's 11 hits allowed representing a career high. Varland won a job in the Twins rotation after having allowed zero runs in the spring but has allowed 13 earned runs over 14 innings thus far for an ERA of 8.36 with a 2.07 WHIP. He'll look to turn things around in his next start, tentatively slated to take place over the weekend in Detroit against the Tigers.
Pitching Stats
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2024
2023
2022
Minor League Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
93
Last 10 Games
93
Last 5 Games
93
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
-11%
BAA vs LHP
2024
-13%
BAA vs LHP
BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2022vs Left | .254 | 48 | 11 | 44 | 10 | |||
Since 2022vs Right | .285 | 60 | 17 | 72 | 15 | |||
2024vs Left | .350 | 11 | 2 | 14 | 4 | |||
2024vs Right | .400 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 1 | |||
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
-8%
ERA on Road
2024
-35%
ERA on Road
ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2022Home | 5.16 | 1.26 | 45.1 | 8.5 | 2.2 | ||||
Since 2022Away | 4.74 | 1.39 | 62.2 | 9.3 | 2.4 | ||||
2024Home | 10.80 | 2.00 | 5.0 | 10.8 | 5.4 | ||||
2024Away | 7.00 | 2.11 | 9.0 | 10.0 | 2.0 | ||||
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
3.20K/9
10.3BB/9
3.2HR/9
3.2Fastball
95.9 mphERA
8.36WHIP
2.07BABIP
.447GB/FB
1.83Left On Base
63.6%Exit Velocity
85.5 mphBarrels/BBE
5.1%Spin Rate
2299 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
30.6%Swinging Strike
9.3%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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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Struggling with two strikes
According to Dan Hayes of The Athletic, Varland has struggled to put hitters away this season and is allowing an .886 OPS with two strikes.
ANALYSIS
The right-hander has been dealt losses in his first three starts of the season and has an 8.36 ERA, 2.07 WHIP and 16:5 K:BB across 14 innings. Varland is getting too much of the plate with his two-strike offerings, particularly breaking balls, and manager Rocco Baldelli commented it "has to be better than what it is." Varland flashed his potential out of the bullpen late last season with a 17:1 K:BB over 12 innings during September, but so far in 2024 he's been unable to translate that success to the rotation.
The right-hander has been dealt losses in his first three starts of the season and has an 8.36 ERA, 2.07 WHIP and 16:5 K:BB across 14 innings. Varland is getting too much of the plate with his two-strike offerings, particularly breaking balls, and manager Rocco Baldelli commented it "has to be better than what it is." Varland flashed his potential out of the bullpen late last season with a 17:1 K:BB over 12 innings during September, but so far in 2024 he's been unable to translate that success to the rotation.
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
Struggles against Dodgers
Varland (0-2) picked up the loss after he tossed five innings, surrendering six runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out six in Tuesday's 6-3 defeat to the Dodgers.
ANALYSIS
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Labors through four frames
Varland (0-1) took the loss Tuesday in Milwaukee after he allowed three runs on six hits and two walks over four innings. He struck out four.
ANALYSIS
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Looks on track for rotation
Varland is expected to open the season in the Minnesota rotation after president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said Monday that Anthony DeSclafani (forearm) will open the season on the injured list, Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
ANALYSIS
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Strong spring as starter
Varland threw three scoreless innings in Friday's Grapefruit League loss to Pittsburgh. He threw 34 pitches and another 11 in the bullpen as he prepares to be a starter, MLB.com reports. He's thrown seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and one walk this spring.
ANALYSIS
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Preparing as starting pitcher
The Twins plan to have Varland stretch out as a starting pitcher this spring, although moving him to the bullpen remains an option, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. He's been working on an improved two-seam fastball and slider in the offseason to help him win a spot in the rotation.
ANALYSIS
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