Jhoan Duran in class by himself with Minnesota Twins
It has not taken long for Jhoan Duran to make an impact upon the Minnesota Twins‘ history books.
Duran has fired 992 pitches this season heading into Wednesday according to Pitch F/X. As noted by Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic, of those 992, a whopping 198 of those are amongst the 200 fastest in Twins history. He also has the 79 fastest pitches in team history.
Jhoan Duran already making mark on Minnesota Twins
It should not be a surprise that Duran is all over the Twins’ velocity record books. He averages over 100 MPH with his fourseamer and 96.3 MPH with his sinker. He also threw the first known non-fastball over 100 MPH with his sinker.
Duran is not just his incredible velocity. He has easily been one of the best relievers in the game this season. He has posted an impressive 1.72 ERA and a 0.910 WHiP in his 62.2 innings, striking out 82 batters with just 14 walks. Opponents have produced a meager .194/.253/.302 batting line in their 242 plate appearances against him with just six homers.
His power sinker and fastball have also been virtually impossible to lift. He has a 59.9% ground ball rate and a 1.55:1 ground ball to fly ball ratio, two incredible marks for any pitcher. Not only is he impressing with his velocity, but batters are just pounding his offerings into the dirt when they do make contact.
One has to imagine that Duran will eventually take over the Twins’ closer role next year. He should have taken over that role earlier this season and their refusal to put him in that spot could be the difference between a postseason appearance and staying home. That should change in 2023.
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Jhoan Duran has been a revelation this season. He has already made his mark on the Minnesota Twins’ record books with his velocity.