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.
The right-hander has made six big-league starts this season and given up more than three runs in only one of them. Homers remain Varland's biggest issue -- he's served up nine in 34 innings, and his 4.24 ERA hides an ominous 5.43 FIP.
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Twins' Louie Varland: Wins again Saturday
Rotowire
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.
Varland threw 60 of 92 pitches for strikes en route to his second straight win. He allowed three straight runners to reach in the sixth inning, including a Shohei Ohtani solo home run, before Jovani Moran was called on to work out of the jam. Varland has been solid through five starts this season, posting a 4.18 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 31:7 K:BB through 28 innings. He's tentatively projected for a home start versus the Blue Jays next week.
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Twins' Louie Varland: Possible waiver wire pickups
Rotowire
It's hard to knock Louie Varland's consistency. With another quality start Sunday, he's now up to three in four chances, and they've come against lineups like the Yankees, Padres and Cubs. Most impressive is that he's gotten no fewer than 12 swinging strikes in any of his four starts, and his overall 14.9 percent swinging-strike rate would rank alongside Shohei Ohtani. He tends to give up hard contact, so his ERA may wind up a bit on the high side. But if he's consistently working into the sixth inning, he offers enough win and strikeout potential that you won't mind.
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Twins' Louie Varland: Sleeper pitchers for Week 8 (May 15-21)
Rotowire
Varland may be vulnerable to the long ball, but he's shown a knack for missing bats so far in his major-league career. He's a good bet to go six innings if he's able to limit the damage, so while there's some risk in starting him at the Angels this week, you could do a lot worse, too.
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Twins' Louie Varland: Cruises to first win
Rotowire
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.
Varland faded a bit in the seventh inning, but it was another positive outing for the right-hander. He had no trouble earning his first win in four appearances this year as the Twins' offense racked up 16 runs in the contest. Through 23 innings, Varland has a 4.30 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 27:6 K:BB. With Tyler Mahle (elbow) done for the year and Kenta Maeda (triceps) not particularly close to a return, Varland should remain in the rotation for a road start versus the Angels.
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Twins' Louie Varland: Possible waiver wire pickups
Rotowire
Louie Varland's second turn filling in for Kenta Maeda (or Tyler Mahle, if you prefer) was his best yet in terms of run prevention, but his 14 swinging strikes on 95 pitches were actually par for the course. Across three starts now, he has a 14 percent swinging-strike rate, which would jibe with the swing-and-miss potential he showed in the minors. Between Double- and Triple-A last year, he had 10.4 K/9 to go along with a 3.06 ERA and 1.26 WHIP. It's that last number that's a bit worrisome. His hit and home run rates were both fairly high, and when you look at the breakdown of his swinging strikes, they're distributed across several pitches. It suggests he's appealing more for his floor than his ceiling -- a mid-rotation arm with better-than-average strikeout potential rather than a burgeoning ace -- but nevertheless, he's appealing.
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Twins' Louie Varland: Gives up one in no-decision
Rotowire
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.
Varland made his second consecutive start Tuesday, taking advantage of Tyler Mahle's (elbow) and Kenta Maeda's (triceps) injuries by turning in his best outing of the season. After giving up four home runs across his first two starts of 2023, Varland allowed just one extra-base hit while keeping the ball in the park against San Diego. Though it's unclear how long Varland will remain in the rotation, he is expected to take the mound at least once more and should be an intriguing streaming option considering he has racked up at least six strikeouts in each of his three starts this season.
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Twins' Louie Varland: Remains in rotation
Rotowire
Varland is scheduled to start Tuesday's game against the Padres at Target Field.
In his second start of the season with the big club last Wednesday and his first since April 14, Varland took a no-decision after surrendering four earned runs on seven hits and two walks over 4.2 innings against the White Sox. Though Varland couldn't come through with a quality start, he managed to induce 15 swinging strikes among his 87 pitches, which bodes well for his outlook moving forward. Varland carries some risk as a relatively unestablished MLB arm, but with two starts likely on tap this week -- his second is expected to come Sunday at home versus the Cubs -- he could make for an appealing lineup option for managers who are chasing strikeout upside.
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Twins' Louie Varland: Sleeper pitchers for Week 7 (May 8-14)
Rotowire
We've reached the point in this week's sleeper pitcher rankings where I have to make something out of nothing, and well, there seems to be some enthusiasm for Varland now that he has a consistent rotation spot. He's gotten whiffs at a nice rate so far, and while his matchups against the Padres and Cubs this week are anxiety-inducing, at least there's two of them.
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Twins' Louie Varland: Logs no-decision Wednesday
Rotowire
Varland pitched 4.2 innings against the White Sox on Wednesday, allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out six batters. He did not factor in the decision.
Luis Robert tagged Varland with a three-run homer in the first inning, but Minnesota came back with four runs between the third and fourth frames to hand the righty hurler a lead. However, Varland gave up a run on three singles and a walk in the bottom of the fourth, and he was pulled after 89 pitches with two outs in the fifth. The 25-year-old's final line wasn't great, but he did show some good swing-and-miss stuff, racking up 15 whiffs and six strikeouts. With Tyler Mahle (elbow) and Kenta Maeda (triceps) both on the 15-day injured list and expected to miss more than the minimum, Varland will likely stick in the rotation for several more starts.
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Twins' Louie Varland: Called up to start Wednesday
Rotowire
Minnesota recalled Varland from Triple-A St. Paul ahead of his scheduled start Wednesday versus the White Sox.
The right-hander is sliding into the rotation spot vacated by Tyler Mahle (elbow), who was placed on the 15-day injured list due to a flexor pronator strain. Varland registered a 4.20 ERA and 25:4 K:BB over 15 innings with St. Paul prior to the promotion, and he's worth consideration for those looking for a streaming option for Wednesday.
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Twins' Louie Varland: Starting Wednesday
Rotowire
The Twins will call Varland up from Triple-A St. Paul to start Wednesday versus the White Sox, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.
He's sliding into the rotation spot vacated by Tyler Mahle (elbow) and should get multiple starts with Mahle slated to miss more than a month of action. Varland holds a 4.20 ERA and 25:4 K:BB across 15 frames with Triple-A St. Paul this season and pitched well in a spot start earlier this season. He's not a bad deep-league streaming option against a struggling White Sox club.
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Twins' Louie Varland: Could get call-up Wednesday
Rotowire
Varland is tentatively scheduled to start Wednesday for Triple-A St. Paul, but he could instead be called up from the minors that day to start for the Twins in Chicago against the White Sox, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.
With Kenta Maeda (triceps) landing on the injured list Saturday and Tyler Mahle (elbow) likely to be deactivated no later than Tuesday, the Twins have two openings in their five-man rotation. Bailey Ober was already summoned from Triple-A to fill in for Maeda this past Saturday, and Varland looks like the next man up to replace Mahle. As Park notes, Varland's pitching schedule is synchronized with Mahle, so the Twins wouldn't have to alter their rotation order to swap Varland in. The 25-year-old right-hander previously impressed in his lone spot start with the big club April 14 against the Yankees (eight strikeouts, three earned runs allowed in six innings), and he's continued to perform well at St. Paul, with whom he's logged a 4.20 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 25:4 K:BB across 15 frames on the season.
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Twins' Louie Varland: Optioned to St. Paul
Rotowire
Minnesota optioned Varland to Triple-A St. Paul on Sunday, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.
Varland pitched well in his start against the Yankees on Friday by allowing three runs over six innings. However, the right-hander was sent down to the minors to make room for Brent Headrick after Headrick received a call-up from the Saints in a corresponding transaction.
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Twins' Louie Varland: Quality start vs. Yankees
Rotowire
Varland gave up three earned runs on six hits and one walk while striking out eight in six innings Friday against the Yankees.
He did not factor in the decision, but Varland's eight strikeouts were a career high. His velocity was up across the board compared to 2022, as he averaged 96.2 mph with his four-seam fastball and 91.4 mph on his cutter, which he threw 39 percent of the time. It was an impressive showing from Varland, but it's possible this will end up just being a spot start if Kenta Maeda (arm fatigue) will indeed be ready to start next week after having his turn skipped this weekend.
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Twins' Louie Varland: Officially promoted to majors
Rotowire
Varland was called up by the Twins on Friday ahead of his start against the Yankees, Brandon Warne of Access Twins reports.
Varland has made one start for Triple-A St. Paul this season, allowing one run, four hits and a walk across five innings while striking out nine batters. He also fared well in his five major-league starts last season but will likely only stay in the majors for one appearance this time around, as Kenta Maeda (arm) should avoid spending time on the injured list. Cole Sands was optioned to St. Paul in a corresponding move.
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Twins' Louie Varland: Set to start Friday
Rotowire
Varland will be called up to start Friday's game against the Yankees, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.
Varland has spent the early portions of the season with Triple-A St. Paul, and he's made one start during which he worked five innings and struck out nine while surrendering only one earned run. He made his big-league debut last season and put together a respectable 3.81 ERA and 1.23 WHIP with a 21:6 K:BB across 26 innings. Varland will tentatively be limited to a spot start in a tough matchup at Yankee Stadium, as Kenta Maeda (arm) is expected to avoid the injured list.
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Twins' Louie Varland: First career win in final game
Rotowire
Varland (1-2) earned the win Wednesday, allowing zero runs on four hits and zero walks over five innings against the White Sox. He struck out five.
In the final game of the season, Varland recorded his first career win with a dominant performance against the White Sox. For the first time this season, Varland did not walk a batter, and he fanned five, his second-highest strikeout total of the season. After recording a 3.06 ERA in 126.1 innings across the minors this season, Varland struggled to begin his big-league career to the tune of a 4.71 ERA entering Wednesday, but the scoreless effort dropped his ERA to 3.81 and gives him positive momentum heading into the offseason.
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Twins' Louie Varland: Remains in rotation
Rotowire
Varland is slated to start Thursday's home game against the White Sox.
He'll be getting his third straight turn through the rotation, even though he was briefly returned to Triple-A St. Paul before being recalled ahead of his most recent start. Through three starts overall in September with the big club, Varland owns a 5.06 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 13:4 K:BB in 16 innings.
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Twins' Louie Varland: Gives up three runs in loss
Rotowire
Varland (0-2) gave up three earned runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out three batters over 5.2 innings to take the loss in a 4-2 defeat against the Angels on Friday.
Varland came within one out of recording his first career quality start but was forced to settle for the loss after giving up a pair of solo home runs to Taylor Ward. Varland has now made three major-league starts and has an ERA of 5.05 in the small sample size. The 24-year-old right-hander had an ERA of 3.34 with a K/9 of 10.2 in 105 innings at Double-A this year, so it is worth watching to see how his skills translate to the big leagues. He is tentatively expected to make his next start against the White Sox.
