2025 Fantasy Baseball: Minnesota Twins Closer Depth Chart
In this story:
What relief pitcher brings an elite fastball, command, a high strikeout rate, and an extreme groundball rate?
Jhoan Duran's 3Ks in the 9th. pic.twitter.com/3TKw0lrsWo
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 9, 2024
CL – Jhoan Duran (ADP – 64.9)
A full season of saves hasn’t been in the equation for Duran over the past two years. In 2024, he suffered an oblique injury in mid-March, leading to a month on the injured list. Sixteen games into last season, Duran had 10 saves and three holds with a 3.00 ERA, 1.133 WHIP, and three home runs over 15.0 innings with 14 strikeouts. He frustrated the fantasy market over his final 42 games (3.89 ERA, 1.169 WHIP, 52 strikeouts, and 13 saves over 39.1 innings). Twins finished the season with 43 saves, and 53.5% went to Duran.
His walk rate (2.5) and strikeout rate (10.9) graded well. Duran never had an ERA under 3.40 in any month while struggling on the road (2-6 with a 5.04 ERA and 30 strikeouts over 25.0 innings). He profiles as a high groundball pitcher (60.9% - 62.6% in his career), with only 21% of his balls in play being flyballs.
His average fastball (100.4) ranked with the best pitchers. Duran features three pitches – four-seamer (.288 BAA), sinker (.238 BAA), and curveball (.148 BAA). Right-handed batters succeeded more against his two fastballs (four-seam – .323 BAA and sinker – .290 BAA).
Fantasy Outlook: Over the two seasons, the ‘fantasy sharps” have targeted Andres Munoz and Duran in the mid-range of drafts. Unfortunately, neither player has delivered high-ranking saves or delivered an impact year. Duran checks the winning upside box at the closer position, but the development of Griffin Jax does cloud some of his chances. He is the right kind of swing, as his home run upside is still present in his pitching profile.
Top Twins Handcuff – Griffin Jax, MIN (ADP – 290.3)
Over his 136 games between 2022 and 2023, Jax went 13-14 with a 3.60 ERA, 1.111 WHIP, and 146 strikeouts over 137.2 innings while picking up five saves. When the Twins lost Jhoan Duran at the start of last season, they handed their top setup man the ball to finish games in April. Jax converted four of five save chances with a step forward in his game (2.25 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and 17 strikeouts over 12.0 innings).
His arm was elite over his following 47 games (1.54 ERA, 0.771 WHIP, 60 strikeouts, four saves, and 18 holds over 46.2 innings). He walked only eight batters over this span. Jax struggled in three games in September (3.65 ERA and 18 strikeouts over 12.1 innings).
He finished the year with the best fastball (97.1 mph) of his career, improving each season in the majors. Jax has success with all his pitches – four-seamer (.165 BAA), slider (.214 BAA), changeup (.170 BAA), sinker (.182 BAA), and curveball (.133 BAA). The ticket to his growth was the move to elite status with his first pitch strike rate (71 – 60% in his career). He keeps the ball down (52.2% groundball rate) with a fading HR/FB rate (7.7).
Fantasy Outlook: The growth of Jax command and success gives the Twins a one-two punch late in games. He will be a factor for saves if his newfound ability to get ahead in the count and strike-throwing ability is repeated. His improved fastball and the depth of his arsenal suggest last year wasn’t a fluke.
Recommended Articles
Atlanta Braves Closer Depth Chart
With 20+ years of experience in the high-stakes fantasy market, I aim to research and compete at the highest level in baseball and football each season. I've contributed as a writer/analyst for Sports Draft Daily, ScoutPro, Scout Fantasy, Fulltime Fantasy, FFToolbox, and Sports Illustrated Fantasy. I'm honored to be in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Hall of Fame. My drafting philosophy is risk-averse yet open to betting on potential game-changers. I approach player selection with a neutral perspective, acknowledging that fantasy sports are inherently unpredictable due to injuries, performance dips, and managerial decisions. My work focuses on these main areas: - Season-long fantasy baseball and football - BestBall Baseball and Football Events - Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS): DraftKings, FanDuel, and Underdog - Long Shot Player Prop Parlays for NFL I participate in various leagues and contests, including NFBC, NFFC, RTSports, FFPC, DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, FanDuel, and FFWC, with the goal of leveraging my extensive experience and research for success in each game format. A fantasy follower can expect in-depth profiles of NFL and MLB players, along with season-long and weekly projections for each fantasy football season. In addition, I have many strategy articles to help develop fantasy players' learning curves.
Follow Shawn__Childs