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Top Griffin Jax News

  • Twins' Griffin Jax: Could fill in at closer

    Jax and Brock Stewart are likely to fill in at closer for the Twins while Jhoan Duran (oblique) is sidelined, Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports.

    Jax has turned into a weapon out of the Twins' bullpen over the last two seasons, posting a 3.60 ERA and 146:39 K:BB over 137.2 innings, collecting five saves along the way. He's also been dominant this spring, yielding just two hits and no runs with a 10:0 K:BB over six frames. Both Jax and Stewart are worthy short-term fantasy darts, though it's possible manager Rocco Baldelli won't settle on one guy.

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  • Twins' Griffin Jax: Having strong spring

    Jax has thrown six scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts and no walks this spring.

    He's in midseason form and ready to return as the primary setup man to closer Jhoan Duran. Jax's barrel rate allowed was in the 97th percentile last season (3.3 percent), while his hard-hit percentage, average exit velocity and 56.8 percent groundball rate were all well above average. He should be a significant source of holds (23 last season) this year while nabbing an occasional save when Duran is unavailable.

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  • Twins' Griffin Jax: Secures fourth save

    Jax picked up a save against the Athletics on Wednesday by striking out the only batter he faced.

    Jhoan Duran worked the seventh inning Wednesday, giving Dallas Keuchel and Jax an opportunity to cover the final two frames. Keuchel pitched a scoreless eighth but put two runners on base in the ninth to bring the winning run to the plate, prompting Jax's entrance. Jax answered the call, striking out rookie phenom Zack Gelof to end the threat and notch his fourth save of the season. Two of those saves have come over his past three outings, but Duran's closer role is secure, so Jax should work primarily as a high-leverage setup option in the playoffs.

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  • Twins' Griffin Jax: Records third save

    Jax picked up the save in Wednesday's 5-3 win over Cincinnati. He allowed no hits and one walk while striking out one over a scoreless inning.

    Jax issued a leadoff walk to Nick Martini after entering the game with a two-run lead in the bottom of the ninth, but the right-handed reliever was able to retire the next three batters to record his third save of the season and his first since Aug. 24. Jax has allowed just one hit over his last three appearances and now carries a 3.12 ERA in September after he scuffled to a 9.00 ERA in August. Jhoan Duran remains the clear closer, but he pitched the eighth inning Wednesday before Minnesota's late comeback since he recently hasn't seen much work.

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  • Twins' Griffin Jax: Notches second save

    Jax earned a save over the Rangers on Thursday, allowing one walk and striking out one batter over one scoreless inning.

    Twins closer Jhoan Duran threw 33 pitches over 1.2 innings in a loss Wednesday, so Jax was summoned Thursday with the team up by two heading into the ninth inning. Jax issued a one-out walk but erased it by inducing a game-ending, double-play groundout. The right-hander notched his second save of the campaign, but his other came over two months ago, and he's not expected to see many more opportunities as long as Duran is healthy.

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  • Twins' Griffin Jax: Picks up first save

    Jax picked up the save Wednesday against the Brewers, striking out one over one scoreless inning.

    Jax entered the game in the ninth inning and went 1-2-3 through the Brewers' lineup to nail down his first save of the season. The right-hander, who'd blown all four of his save opportunities this season coming in, threw a sweeper on seven of his 11 pitches to end the game. He has not allowed a run since May 19 against the Angels, registering 12 strikeouts with no walks over that stretch (9.2 innings).

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  • Twins' Griffin Jax: Continues recent turnaround

    Jax (3-6) earned the win in Thursday's 7-6 win over the Guardians. He didn't allow a hit or walk while striking out one over a scoreless inning.

    Jax struggled with an 8.18 ERA and three blown saves between April 21 to May 19. He's since thrown five scoreless innings in his last five appearances with an 8:0 K:BB ratio, so it looks like he's back to being a reliable setup man.

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  • Twins' Griffin Jax: Records fifth hold

    Jax threw a scoreless inning while striking out two in Friday's 8-6 victory over the Royals. He earned his fifth hold.

    Jax has a 3.18 ERA and 14:2 K:BB ratio in 11.1 innings as he picked up where he left off last season as a high-impact reliever. He's working as a key setup man for the Twins but could get a save chance the next day or two with Jhoan Duran away from the team for a personal issue.

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  • Twins' Griffin Jax: Gets hold in season debut

    Jax threw a scoreless eighth inning with a walk in Thursday's win over against Kansas City to earn his first hold of the season.

    It was notable that Jax was used in the eighth inning ahead of Jhoan Duran in the ninth, while Pablo Lopez worked the seventh. Jax had a breakout season in 2022 after moving to the bullpen and became a key setup man for the Twins. He improved both his strikeout (26.9 percent) and walk (6.9 percent) rates with a 78:20 K:BB over 72.1 innings. It looks like he could be the main set-up man and rack up holds again, and possibly be in the mix for saves if manager Rocco Baldelli sticks to his previous matchup-based bullpen usage.

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  • Twins' Griffin Jax: Working on new pitch

    Jax threw a scoreless inning with a strikeout and a walk in his spring debut Monday. Jax has introduced a new pitch this spring, a cutter, which he worked on at Driveline in the offseason, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

    Jax will likely use the cutter as a rare change of pace, as his primary off-speed pitch, a slider, held opponents to a .187 batting average against last season. Jax had a breakout season after moving to the bullpen and became a key setup man for the Twins. He improved both his strikeout (26.9 percent) and walk (6.9 percent) rates with a 78:20 K:BB ratio over 72.1 innings. He also induced grounders at a 47.3 percent rate and had 18 holds. He should be a good source of holds again, and possibly some saves, in Minnesota's bullpen.

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  • Twins' Griffin Jax: Records 10th hold

    Jax threw a scoreless inning while striking out one batter over two-thirds of an inning in Saturday's 7-4 win over the Padres to earn his 10th hold.

    Jax has become a key setup man after transitioning from being a starting pitcher last season. He's improved both his average fastball velocity (95.3 mph from 92.7 mph last season) and strikeout rate (9.6 K/9 from 7.1 K/9 last season). Despite Minnesota's struggles to find a steady closer at times, Jax hasn't been used at the end of games, however.

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  • Twins' Griffin Jax: Earns second win

    Jax (2-0) picked up the win Saturday against the Athletics, striking out two while allowing one hit across 1.2 scoreless innings.

    Jax entered a scoreless tie with one out in the sixth inning and completed the frame without allowing a baserunner. The Twins went ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the inning, and Jax remained on the mound for the seventh, allowing just a two-out double. He now owns a 1.35 ERA in 13.1 innings of relief this season, a far cry from the 6.37 ERA he posted as primarily a starter last year.

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  • Twins' Griffin Jax: Picks up first career save

    Jax earned the save, tossing three scoreless innings and striking out two while allowing two hits, a walk and a hit batsman in a 7-1 win over Detroit.

    Jax got the unconventional save by tossing three innings in a lopsided affair. After making 14 starts last year, the righty has pitched exclusively in relief for the Twins early in 2022. Thursday's three-inning save was his longest appearance of the season and first save at any level in professional baseball. He's allowed two runs and has 11:3 K:BB in nine innings of work on the campaign.

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  • Twins' Griffin Jax: Returns to big club

    The Twins recalled Jax from Triple-A St. Paul on Tuesday.

    Jax had been preparing for a starting role for St. Paul after he was optioned to the affiliate Thursday, but his turn in the rotation never came up before he was called back up to Minnesota. He's expected to serve as a multi-inning option out of the bullpen while he's up with the Twins.

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  • Twins' Griffin Jax: Optioned to Triple-A

    The Twins optioned Jax to Triple-A St. Paul on Thursday, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

    Jax was moved to the bullpen this spring and was competing for a middle-relief role, but he ultimately fell short in his bid for the Opening Day roster. The Twins could consider moving Jax back to a starting role as he heads to St. Paul.

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  • Twins' Griffin Jax: Moving to bullpen

    Jax will move to the bullpen and work in a relief role this season, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. Jax will get ready for one-to-three-inning assignments, two or three times a week, according to manager Rocco Baldelli.

    Jax finished his first big-league season with a 6.37 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 65:29 K:BB across 82 innings. He was a starter in 14 of 18 outings. He'll try to win a role in middle relief. Jax and Lewis Thorpe moving to the bullpen could be a sign the Twins are set to bring in more veteran starting pitchers or are ready to have younger talent contend for rotation roles.

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  • Twins' Griffin Jax: Finishes season on high note

    Jax (4-5) earned the win over Kansas City on Saturday, pitching five shutout innings during which he allowed one hit and two walks while striking out three.

    Jax put together an up-and-down rookie campaign, and he saved his best for last as Saturday's outing was his first in which he didn't allow a run. The right-hander surrendered just one hit -- a third-inning single -- and didn't allow any runners to reach second base. Jax finished his first big-league season with a 6.37 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 65:29 K:BB across 82 innings. Moving forward, he'll need to do a better job of keeping the ball in the park to find sustained success, as his 2.52 HR/9 in 2021 ranks third-highest among pitchers who have thrown at least 50 innings.

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  • Twins' Griffin Jax: Allows four runs in loss

    Jax (3-5) allowed four runs on six hits while striking out two over five innings as he took the loss against the Blue Jays on Sunday.

    Jax was punished by the long ball Sunday. He allowed two runners on in the second before serving up a three-run blast to Danny Jansen to give the Blue Jays a 3-1 lead. George Springer later added a home run of his own after hitting a solo shot against Jax in the fifth. Jax would end up finishing the frame before calling it a day at 83 pitches. He was finding the strike zone a lot, as he threw 61 strikes and didn't walk anybody but was hurt by a few big mistakes. The 26-year-old hasn't won a game since Aug. 10 and sports an ugly 6.78 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 62:27 K:BB over 77 innings this season. He's projected to take the hill one more time in Kansas City next weekend.

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  • Twins' Griffin Jax: Whiffs six in three frames

    Jax didn't factor in the decision against the Cubs on Tuesday, pitching three innings and allowing three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out six.

    The right-handed rookie gave up one run in each of the three innings in which he pitched, with the final two tallies coming by way of the long ball. Though it wasn't a very efficient outing -- Jax needed 72 pitches to retire nine batters -- he did flash some solid strikeout stuff, as his six punchouts were his most since he fanned 10 on Aug. 10. Jax has looked good at times this season, but his overall 6.75 ERA suggests that his first taste of the big leagues has been more struggle than success. He's expected to next take the mound Sunday at home in a tough matchup versus Toronto.

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  • Twins' Griffin Jax: Bested by Cleveland

    Jax (3-4) allowed five runs (three earned) on seven hits and a walk over 4.2 innings to take the loss Wednesday against Cleveland. He also had three strikeouts.

    Jax kept Cleveland off the board until the fourth inning when Bobby Bradley broke a scoreless deadlock on a run-scoring double. Cleveland tacked on four more runs in the following frame, the big blast coming on Oscar Mercado's three-run homer. Jax has been throttled to the tune of a 9.36 ERA over his last five starts, yielding eight home runs in that stretch.

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Player Bio

HT/WT: 6-2, 195 lbs
Birthplace: Englewood, CO
Age: 29
School: Air Force
Experience: 2
Bats/Throws: R, R