Q&A: Twins minor league pitcher of year Louie Varland

Before departing for a mini-camp in Fort Myers, Twin Cities native and Twins minor league pitcher Louie Varland spoke with KSTP Sports after a recent throwing session at Starters Training in Burnsville.

***Click the video box above to watch our conversation with Varland and to see him in action***

Varland attended North St. Paul high school, then pitched for Concordia-St. Paul in college. The Twins selected Varland with their 15th-round pick in 2019. Since then, he’s dominated.

Varland, 24, was named the Twins’ minor league pitcher of the year in September. That came after he posted a 2.10 earned-run average and struck out 12.4 batters per nine innings in 20 games — 18 starts — in 2021 between Class-A Fort Myers and High Class-A Cedar Rapids.

Varland hopes to start 2022 at AA-Wichita and finish it at AAA-St. Paul, with the eventual goal of pitching for the Twins at Target Field.

Varland often works out with and trades tips with his older brother, Gus, a pitcher in the Dodgers organization.