The Twins had always expected Louie Varland to pitch significant innings for them this season, but any doubts about his position and whether he’d make the Opening Day roster vanished Monday.
Anthony DeSclafani suffered an elbow injury that may necessitate season-ending surgery, thus Varland will take the fifth position in the Twins’ starting rotation.
“He’s prepared to take a spot in our rotation from the start of the season, and we’ll just keep watching him pitch,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He looks great right now. I know I am pleased with what I have seen. I believe our pitching staff is really pleased with the changes he made this summer and the additions he’s made to his repertoire.”
Varland, a St. Paul native, arrived at spring training prepared to contend for a job. He did not take it easy as he increased his innings. He’s working on a two-seam fastball, but he hasn’t thrown it much in Grapefruit League games.
The Twins, like many teams, don’t place a high value on spring training statistics, but Varland made it difficult to overlook his success. He has not allowed a run in 11 innings. He was supposed to open the season in Class AAA since, unlike DeSclafani, he could be optioned to the minor leagues, but DeSclafani’s injury interrupted camp competition.
“He’s done nothing but work hard, keep his head down and not get distracted by his situation and other peoples’ situation,” Baldelli stated in reference to Varland. “The guys who start overthinking those things become quite worried out about them. They often struggle as a result of their mental approaches. Louie does an excellent job of focusing solely on creating solid pitches.
Varland, a 26-year-old righthander, emerged as a bullpen weapon during the Twins’ playoff run last season. He allowed two runs over 12 innings, with his fastball reaching 99 mph and his cutter nearly unhittable. Baldelli praised about his performance in the bullpen after the season.
Last season, he had a 5.30 ERA in ten starts, allowing 14 home runs in 56 innings. Opposing hitters had a.256 on-base percentage in their first plate appearance against Varland during his starts, a.307 OBP in their second plate appearance, and a.417 OBP when they faced him again.
The Twins, who lost Sonny Grey and Kenta Maeda to free agency, chose to maintain Varland as their starting pitcher. They might return to the bullpen later in the summer if necessary, but there is hope he will improve as a starter.
More than Varland’s spring stats, the Twins are interested in the development of his secondary pitches and how he employs them in hitter-friendly counts.
“The key is you just don’t want to be in a position — as a young pitcher — to be in fastball-oriented counts and only be able to throw your fastball,” said Derek Falvey, Twins head of baseball operations. “That gets you into problems. That’s what major league hitters tell you and teach you pretty quickly. He’s been challenged to improve on it, and I believe he’s done a terrific job of using off-speed pitches in non-off-speed counts.”
The Twins are not ruling out signing a pitcher to add starting depth, but it will most likely be on a minor league deal.
Varland insisted that he was willing to play whatever position the Twins desired and would do whatever to make the Opening Day roster.
On Monday, amid sad injury news, he had his response.
“We always believed in Louie in that [starting] role,” he remarked. “We wanted to have as many options as possible and that lined up pretty good.”
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