Griffin

Jax

The 30-year-old hurler was a dominant force out of the Twins’ bullpen in 2024 — compiling a 2.03 ERA, minuscule 0.87 WHIP and a 95/15 K/BB ratio across 71 innings. The club had toyed with the idea of moving Jax back to the rotation for the 2025 season, which would have made him extremely interesting from a fantasy perspective, but they announced earlier in the week that he would remain in the bullpen. Expect him to work in a setup capacity in front of Jhoan Duran and to be the next man up for the closer’s role if injury strikes.

Twins bench coach Jayce Tingler mentioned earlier this offseason that Jax could potentially make the leap to Minnesota’s starting rotation next season, but that doesn’t appear to be happening. It’ll be Pablo López, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober and Chris Paddack in addition to some combination of Simeon Woods Richardson, David Festa or Zebby Matthews breaking camp in the rotation mix. The 30-year-old righty, who broke in the majors as a starter back in 2021, has excelled in a high-leverage role for the Twins over the past three seasons. He piled up 10 saves last year to accompany a sparkling 2.03 ERA (1.94 FIP), 0.87 WHIP and 95/15 K/BB ratio across 71 innings (72 appearances). He’ll remain among the most impactful non-closers in the fantasy landscape and a legitimate force in saves plus holds formats heading into 2025.

Twins’ bench coach Jayce Tingler mentioned in November during an interview with MLB Network Radio that the club was considering the idea, and there are some in the organization who believe he can succeed in that role, but it appears to be unlikely at the moment. The 30-year-old right-hander registered a 2.03 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and a 95/15 K/BB ratio over 71 innings out of the Twins’ bullpen in 2024, establishing himself as one of the most dominant setup men in baseball.

Jax arrived in the majors as a starter in 2021, but he had a 6.37 ERA in 82 innings that season and hasn’t done anything but relieve since. Especially given that he still uses five pitches, it’d be fascinating to see what he could do as a starter now. He was outstanding late in games last season, racking up a 95/15 K/BB in 71 innings.

The Twins wanted to avoid Jax tonight, but the third extra inning resulted in him making his fourth appearance in five days. He got the job done, but he’ll certainly need Saturday off after this. Jhoan Duran should be unavailable, too, since he pitched a scoreless eighth in his third appearance in four days. Cole Sands might be next in line for a save.

Jhoan Duran pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the Twins and was tasked with getting a two-inning save, but he allowed a double to Jose Ramirez and, after striking out Josh Naylor, issued a walk to bring the tying run to the plate, so Rocco Baldelli brought in Jax. The 29-year-old would allow an infield single but get a strikeout and a groundout to secure the win and his ninth save of the season.

It was Jax’s eighth save of the season and first since June 23rd. Jhoan Duran pitched the eighth inning, but there’s been no changing of the guard here. Jax has value in that he can provide good ratios and strikeouts for a reliever, but he’s not the regular closer for Minnesota so the most you can expect is the occasional save.

It’s the second straight week that Jax has secured a save on Sunday. Jhoan Duran threw 19 pitches in a blown save against the A’s on Friday night, but neither of the two hurlers worked during Saturday’s game, so it was a bit surprising to see Jax and not Duran to close this one out. Other than posting elite ratios and nabbing the occasional save though, it’s hard to count on Jax for much more from a fantasy perspective while Duran is still the primary option in the ninth inning.

The 29-year-old right-hander got the call after Jhoan Duran closed out the first game of the doubleheader earlier in the afternoon. He did allow a one-out single to JJ Bleday that put the tying run on base, but battled back to get Miguel Andujar on a fly ball to center field and Tyler Soderstrom on strikes to end it. Jax has been a key cog in the Twins’ bullpen this season, posting a 2.30 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and a 43/8 K/BB ratio (31 1/3 innings) while recording six saves and three victories.

The Twins again opted to give Jhoan Duran what looked like the tougher assignment in the eighth. Jax came in with a two-run lead in the ninth and allowed a walk and two singles before finishing off the Blue Jays. He’s going to retain some value in deeper mixed leagues if the Twins keep using Duran like this.