Ryan Jeffers

Ryan Jeffers

26-Year-Old CatcherC
Minnesota Twins
2023 Fantasy Outlook
After a slow start to the season (hitting .189 with a .601 OPS through his first two months), Jeffers started to get in a groove and was hitting .247 with a four home runs and a .769 OPS from June 1 to July 13. He then broke his right thumb July 14. Jeffers returned for seven games in September, but it was somewhat of a lost season. Jeffers reduced his strikeouts (26.3% K%) and made more contact (career-high 78.8%) but his power declined, which was a little odd since he was in the 91st percentile for Max Exit Velocity. He hit better against lefties (.909 OPS against LHP) continuing a sharp platoon split (career .794 OPS against LHP). The Twins brought in Christian Vazquez on a three-year deal, and they are paying Vazquez more than backup money, so Jeffers may be on the short side of a platoon. Jeffers is seen as a strong defender with grades slightly above average as a pitcher framer and below average as a thrower (45th percentile Pop Time 2B). Given his power and ability to draw walks (9.7% BB%), he could be a viable starting fantasy catcher in AL-only leagues, but the Vazquez addition dampens his mixed-league appeal. Read Past Outlooks
RANKSFrom Preseason
#548
ADP
$Signed a one-year contract with the Twins in March of 2023.
Belts game-winning homer
CMinnesota Twins
May 29, 2023
Jeffers went 3-for-5 with a two-run home run in Monday's 10-inning win over the Astros.
ANALYSIS
Jeffers already had two hits when he came to the plate with the game tied in the top of the 10th. The backstop plated what proved to be the winning runs with a two-run blast to left field. Jeffers has homered twice over his past 12 at-bats after notching just one long ball across his first 25 contests of the campaign. Christian Vazquez has yet to go deep this season and is slashing a paltry .223/.296/.250, so the door is open for Jeffers to earn more playing time if he continues to swing a hot bat.
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Batting Stats
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2023
2022
2021
2020
2023 MLB Game Log
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2022 MLB Game Log
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2021 MLB Game Log
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2020 MLB Game Log
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Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
1
2
2
6
4
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
2
5
1
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2021
 
 
+22%
OPS vs LHP
2023
 
 
+39%
OPS vs RHP
2022
 
 
+68%
OPS vs LHP
2021
 
 
+14%
OPS vs LHP
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2021vs Left .788 204 25 8 28 0 .249 .342 .446
Since 2021vs Right .647 424 41 16 43 0 .194 .274 .373
2023vs Left .690 35 3 0 2 0 .192 .382 .308
2023vs Right .960 64 10 3 7 0 .302 .413 .547
2022vs Left .909 70 9 3 13 0 .306 .377 .532
2022vs Right .540 166 16 4 14 0 .167 .247 .293
2021vs Left .730 99 13 5 13 0 .225 .303 .427
2021vs Right .640 194 15 9 22 0 .185 .253 .388
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Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2021
 
 
+9%
OPS at Home
2023
 
 
+6%
OPS at Home
2022
 
 
+16%
OPS at Home
2021
 
 
+5%
OPS at Home
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2021Home .725 296 36 12 31 0 .216 .312 .413
Since 2021Away .663 332 30 12 40 0 .207 .282 .381
2023Home .897 49 9 1 1 0 .270 .438 .459
2023Away .844 50 4 2 8 0 .262 .367 .476
2022Home .699 113 13 3 11 0 .230 .319 .380
2022Away .602 123 12 4 16 0 .188 .254 .348
2021Home .687 134 14 8 19 0 .189 .261 .426
2021Away .656 159 14 6 16 0 .207 .277 .379
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Stat Review
How does Ryan Jeffers compare to other hitters?
This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. 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 and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • BB/K
    Walk to strikeout ratio
  • BB Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
  • K Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
  • ISO
    Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
  • AVG
    Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
  • OBP
    On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
  • SLG
    Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
  • OPS
    On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
  • wOBA
    Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Hard Hit Rate
    A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
  • Barrels/PA
    The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as 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.
  • Expected BA
    Expected Batting Average.
  • Expected SLG
    Expected Slugging Percentage.
  • Sprint Speed
    The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
  • Ground Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
  • Line Drive %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
  • Fly Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.
BB/K
0.43
 
BB Rate
12.1%
 
K Rate
28.3%
 
BABIP
.375
 
ISO
.203
 
AVG
.266
 
OBP
.402
 
SLG
.468
 
OPS
.870
 
wOBA
.387
 
Exit Velocity
91.0 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
26.4%
 
Barrels/PA
6.1%
 
Expected BA
.238
 
Expected SLG
.447
 
Sprint Speed
23.0 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
38.0%
 
Line Drive %
20.0%
 
Fly Ball %
42.0%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Batting Stats
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Additional Stats
Games By Position
Defensive Stats
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Batted Ball Stats
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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2022
2021
2020
Jeffers had a minor elbow surgery last offseason and dealt with knee and heel injuries in season, and it was largely a season to forget for the 24-year-old backstop. He still brought his trademark excellent defense, and his .202 ISO was in line with career norms. His 36.9 K% looks like a massive outlier, leading to his first pro stop as a below league-average hitter (82 wRC+). With the Twins trading Mitch Garver to Texas, the decks are clear for Jeffers to get as much playing time as he can handle. We shouldn't expect him to approach his career .286 batting average in the minors, but he isn't as bad as the .199 mark he posted last season. Jeffers is a fine C2 in 15-team two-catcher leagues, and he is young enough to take a big enough step forward to become relevant in shallower formats, assuming the Twins don't bring in anyone above him on the depth chart.
Jeffers had a strong rookie year and should be part of the mix at catcher for the Twins this season. Jeffers made the jump to the majors from playing Double-A in 2019, becoming the primary catcher after Mitch Garver was sidelined in August. He responded by hitting .273 with a .791 OPS. His average exit velocity of 91.5 mph was well above average, according to Baseball Savant. He also had a solid 41.7% hard-hit rate. He did strike out at an alarming 30.6% clip and had a high .364 BABIP. His defense was a question earlier in his career, but he was in the 90th percentile for pitch framing and a -2 DRS shows he may not be a liability. His outlook for playing time is uncertain since both he and Garver are right-handed. However, the Twins have made it a point to give catchers adequate rest, so the duo may split playing time evenly.
When the Twins selected Jeffers out of UNC Wilmington with the No. 59 overall pick in 2018, most evaluators believed in his bat but questioned whether his defense would be good enough for him to stick behind the plate. He has been as advertised at the plate and has improved enough as a receiver that his defense is no longer a concern. The pitcher-friendly Florida State League suppressed his numbers at High-A, where he was 20 percent better than league average. His numbers improved across the board after a promotion to Double-A, where he showed off his plus raw power (.195 ISO) and a patient, all-fields approach. Jeffers elevates with intent (45.6 FB%), and is similar in many ways to the player atop the organizational depth chart, Mitch Garver. This year should serve as Jeffers' final tour of the minor leagues before he forms a potent duo with Garver in 2021.
More Fantasy News
Hits second homer of season
CMinnesota Twins
May 24, 2023
Jeffers went 1-for-2 with two walks and a solo home run in Wednesday's 7-1 win over the Giants.
ANALYSIS
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Gets start in series finale
CMinnesota Twins
May 24, 2023
Jeffers will start at catcher and bat eighth in Wednesday's game against the Giants.
ANALYSIS
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Goes deep in win
CMinnesota Twins
April 3, 2023
Jeffers hit a solo home run in his only at-bat Monday in an 11-1 victory versus Miami.
ANALYSIS
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Two hits in season debut
CMinnesota Twins
April 2, 2023
Jeffers went 2-for-5 with two RBI in Sunday's 7-4 victory over the Royals.
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Set to split time behind plate
CMinnesota Twins
March 23, 2023
Jeffers went 0-for-4 in Wednesday's spring training win over Boston and is hitting .214 (6-for-28) with two home runs and a .790 OPS this spring.
ANALYSIS
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