Twins' Jhoan Duran makes Pitching Ninja's list of scariest pitchers
It's Halloween, but we're not tricking you when we say there's something positive to say about the Minnesota Twins. No, they haven't agreed to terms with Carlos Correa and no there isn't a rumor that they'll do whatever it takes to find an ace starting pitcher. But the Pitching Ninja Rob Friedman has included Jhoan Duran on his list of the scariest pitchers in baseball.
It's actually not a list. It's a short video featuring Duran and other scary pitchers from past and present. Duran made the list, along with the likes of Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson and Max Scherzer, because of his 104 mph fastball and slithering "off-speed" stuff (that still comes at hitters at 98 mph). This is pretty sweet. Video:
Duran's four-seam fastball led the majors with an average speed of 100.8 mph in 2022. He also led the majors in splitter velocity, averaging 96.4 mph. The next closest was 92.5 mph, according to Baseball Savant.
You know what's actually scary? The fact that the Twins led the AL Central for 108 days and were even in first place as late as Sept. 4, only to circle the drain and get flushed down the AL Central toilet.
Minnesota was 14 games behind the Guardians by the time it was all said and done.
