Louie Varland

25-Year-Old PitcherSP
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. Read Past Outlooks
RANKSFrom Preseason
#600
ADP
$Signed a one-year contract with the Twins in March of 2023.
Shuts down Astros
PMinnesota Twins
May 31, 2023
Varland moved to 3-1 on the season Wednesday after tossing seven scoreless innings and allowing four hits and one walk while striking out five batters in an 8-2 win over Houston.
ANALYSIS
Varland suffered his first loss of the campaign against Toronto in his previous start, but he got back in the win column with a sterling effort Wednesday. The right-hander tossed a season-high seven innings and held the Astros scoreless, notching his fifth quality start through seven appearances. None of the four hits Varland allowed went for extra bases, and he continued to demonstrate good control -- he's surrendered one or fewer free passes in each of his past four starts. Varland originally slid into the rotation as a result of an injury to Tyler Mahle (elbow). Mahle won't return to action this season, but it's unclear if Varland will keep his spot in the rotation when Kenta Maeda (triceps) makes it back to the majors, potentially within the next two weeks.
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Pitching Stats
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2023
2022
2023 MLB Game Log
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2022 MLB Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
91
Last 10 Games
91
Last 5 Games
94
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 2021
 
 
-1%
BAA vs LHP
2023
 
 
-3%
BAA vs LHP
2022
Even Split
2021
No Stats
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2021vs Left .250 97 23 5 23 4 1 3
Since 2021vs Right .253 177 37 9 42 6 1 10
2023vs Left .240 53 14 3 12 1 1 2
2023vs Right .248 115 25 5 27 4 0 7
2022vs Left .262 44 9 2 11 3 0 1
2022vs Right .263 62 12 4 15 2 1 3
2021vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2021vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2021
 
 
-5%
ERA on Road
2023
 
 
-4%
ERA at Home
2022
 
 
-17%
ERA on Road
2021
No Stats
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2021Home 3.72 1.10 29.0 1 2 0 6.8 1.9 1.9
Since 2021Away 3.55 1.24 38.0 3 1 0 9.0 1.9 1.7
2023Home 3.44 1.04 18.1 1 1 0 7.9 1.5 2.0
2023Away 3.57 1.24 22.2 2 0 0 9.1 2.0 2.0
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
2021Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2021Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
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
4.88
 
K/9
8.6
 
BB/9
1.8
 
HR/9
2.0
 
Fastball
95.0 mph
 
ERA
3.51
 
WHIP
1.15
 
BABIP
.281
 
GB/FB
1.45
 
Left On Base
90.1%
 
Exit Velocity
81.3 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
5.3%
 
Spin Rate
2226 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
21.5%
 
Swinging Strike
12.7%
 
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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More Fantasy News
Takes first loss of season
PMinnesota Twins
May 26, 2023
Varland (2-1) took the loss Friday, allowing three runs on seven hits over six innings against Toronto. He struck out three and did not walk a batter.
ANALYSIS
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Wins again Saturday
PMinnesota Twins
May 20, 2023
Varland (2-0) allowed two runs on six hits and a walk with four strikeouts over five-plus innings to earn the win Saturday over the Angels.
ANALYSIS
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Cruises to first win
PMinnesota Twins
May 14, 2023
Varland (1-0) allowed three runs on four hits and a walk while striking out seven over 6.1 innings to earn the win Sunday over the Cubs.
ANALYSIS
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Gives up one in no-decision
PMinnesota Twins
May 9, 2023
Varland did not factor into the decision Tuesday, allowing one run on five hits and two walks over six innings against the Padres. He struck out six.
ANALYSIS
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Remains in rotation
PMinnesota Twins
May 8, 2023
Varland is scheduled to start Tuesday's game against the Padres at Target Field.
ANALYSIS
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