Griffin Jax has become the Minnesota Twins most reliable relief pitcher
Griffin Jax was never going to become a long-term starting pitcher in the MLB, but he has the stuff to become one of the best relievers in baseball. This season, he’s become the Minnesota Twins’ most reliable relief pitcher.
Jax made his debut last season due to all of the injuries and players traded at the MLB trade deadline. During his rookie year (14 games as starter, 4 as reliever), he went 4-5, with an ERA of 6.37.
He’s great at pitching one time through the lineup, but Jax struggles when he is tasked with facing a batter for the second and third time.
- 1st time through lineup: .175/.246/.351, .597 OPS, 3.41 ERA
- 2nd time through lineup: .283/.369/.642, 1.010 OPS, 7.62 ERA
- 3rd time through lineup: .360/.382/.660, 1.042 OPS, 10.03 ERA
For this specific reason, it was telling that he’d be better suited out of the pen. He can come in and dominate six-to-seven batters and never have to worry about seeing the same guy twice. That’s helped him a lot this season, and we’re seeing the benefits from this transition.
This year, the 27-year-old is 2-0, with an ERA of 1.35 and an opponent batting average of .233. He has a lot more success against right-handed hitters than he does against lefties.
Because Jax has been moved to the bullpen, it’s allowed him to increase his velocity and focus more on his slider. In 2021, he primarily used his fastball (93 MPH, 46 percent) and slider (83 MPH, 31 percent).
This season he’s used those two pitches the most, but he’s relied more on his slider (86 MPH, 53 percent) than his fastball (94 MPH, 19 percent).
His slider has already looked like one of the best in baseball, and because of that, we’re seeing just how dominant he can be.
Heading into the season, the bullpen was viewed as potentially the Twins’ greatest strength. The starting rotation looked underwhelming to start the year (boy, were we wrong), and we needed to see the offense prove us wrong.
However, the bullpen has been the worst of the three (not that it’s been bad at all). Jhoan Duran could be the best bullpen arm in the future, but he’s had his moments. Tyler Duffey is hit or miss, and Emilio Pagán looks more like a seventh or eighth inning option.
Joe Smith has been great, but age probably plays a factor in how often the Twins use him. Though, it’s important to note that he’s looked great when he has pitched.
The Twins continue to fight off the injury bug, and Danny Coulombe is the most recent player to exit a game early. This means that Jax will need to step up even more in his absence.
Jax has upped his velocity, and he’s having a lot of success in his new role. While it’s still early, he’s been the Twins’ most reliable relief pitcher. Depending on the landscape of the bullpen, the necessity of trading for another reliever becomes a lot lower if Jax continues to dominate the competition.
