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
RANKSFrom Preseason
#308
ADP
$Signed a one-year contract with the Twins in March of 2024.
Saddled with another loss
PMinnesota Twins
April 15, 2024
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.
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Pitching Stats
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2024
2023
2022
2024 MLB Game Log
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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
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+
 
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
 
 
-11%
BAA vs LHP
2024
 
 
-13%
BAA vs LHP
2023
 
 
-24%
BAA vs LHP
2022
Even Split
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2022vs Left .254 186 48 11 44 6 2 10
Since 2022vs Right .285 275 60 17 72 9 3 15
2024vs Left .350 43 11 2 14 2 0 4
2024vs Right .400 29 5 3 10 1 0 1
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
 
 
-8%
ERA on Road
2024
 
 
-35%
ERA on Road
2023
 
 
-3%
ERA at Home
2022
 
 
-17%
ERA on Road
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2022Home 5.16 1.26 45.1 2 4 0 8.5 2.2 2.4
Since 2022Away 4.74 1.39 62.2 3 4 0 9.3 2.4 1.9
2024Home 10.80 2.00 5.0 0 1 0 10.8 5.4 3.6
2024Away 7.00 2.11 9.0 0 2 0 10.0 2.0 3.0
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
3.20
 
K/9
10.3
 
BB/9
3.2
 
HR/9
3.2
 
Fastball
95.9 mph
 
ERA
8.36
 
WHIP
2.07
 
BABIP
.447
 
GB/FB
1.83
 
Left On Base
63.6%
 
Exit Velocity
85.5 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
5.1%
 
Spin Rate
2299 rpm
 
Balls 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
PMinnesota Twins
April 17, 2024
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.
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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
Struggles against Dodgers
PMinnesota Twins
April 9, 2024
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
PMinnesota Twins
April 2, 2024
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
PMinnesota Twins
March 18, 2024
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
PMinnesota Twins
March 8, 2024
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
PMinnesota Twins
February 18, 2024
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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