GRIFFIN JAX NEWS

Gets hold in season debut Jax threw a scoreless eighth inning with a walk in Thursday's win over against Kansas City to earn his first hold of the season.

Impact It was notable that Jax was used in the eighth inning ahead of Jhon Duran in the ninth with Pablo Lopez working the seventh inning. It may just be the first game, but Jax looked ahead of Lopez in the order of the bullpen. Jax had a breakout season after moving to the bullpen last season and became a key setup man for the Twins. He improved both his strikeout (26.9 percent) and walk (6.9 percent) rates with a 78:20 K:BB ratio over 72.1 innings. It looks like he could be the main set-up man and rack up the holds again and possibly be in the mix for saves if manager Rocco Baldelli sticks to his previous matchup-based bullpen use.

MARCH 31, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Inside 4 Twins pitchers' trip to Driveline: Better velocity, new pitches and a 'stupid rooster' A group of Twins pitchers rented an Airbnb near Driveline's Washington facility after last season ended.

MARCH 8, 2023 • THEATHLETIC.COM

Working on new pitch Jax threw a scoreless inning with a strikeout and a walk in his spring debut Monday. Jax has introduced a new pitch this spring, a cutter, which he worked on at Driveline in the of...

Impact Jax will likely use the cutter as a rare change of pace, as his primary off-speed pitch, a slider, held opponents to a .187 batting average against last season. Jax had a breakout season after moving to the bullpen and became a key setup man for the Twins. He improved both his strikeout (26.9 percent) and walk (6.9 percent) rates with a 78:20 K:BB ratio over 72.1 innings. He also induced grounders at a 47.3 percent rate and had 18 holds. He should be a good source of holds again, and possibly some saves, in Minnesota's bullpen.

FEBRUARY 28, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Twins got Carlos Correa back, but are they better?

The Twins unexpectedly landed their top free-agent target. But do they have enough pitching for it to matter in 2023?

JANUARY 12, 2023

Records 10th hold Jax threw a scoreless inning while striking out one batter over two-thirds of an inning in Saturday's 7-4 win over the Padres to earn his 10th hold.

Impact Jax has become a key setup man after transitioning from being a starting pitcher last season. He's improved both his average fastball velocity (95.3 mph from 92.7 mph last season) and strikeout rate (9.6 K/9 from 7.1 K/9 last season). Despite Minnesota's struggles to find a steady closer at times, Jax hasn't been used at the end of games, however.

JULY 31, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

How the Twins turned Griffin Jax into a relief weapon after an ugly rookie year No one expected the Twins bullpen to be among baseball's best one month into the season, and no contributor was more unexpected than Jax.

MAY 19, 2022 • THEATHLETIC.COM

Move from starter to reliever going smoothly for Twins pitcher Griffin Jax Griffin Jax, a starter-turned-reliever, has a 1.35 earned-run average in eight games this season.

MAY 9, 2022 • TWINCITIES.COM

Earns second win Jax (2-0) picked up the win Saturday against the Athletics, striking out two while allowing one hit across 1.2 scoreless innings.

Impact Jax entered a scoreless tie with one out in the sixth inning and completed the frame without allowing a baserunner. The Twins went ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the inning, and Jax remained on the mound for the seventh, allowing just a two-out double. He now owns a 1.35 ERA in 13.1 innings of relief this season, a far cry form the 6.37 ERA he posted as primarily a starter last year.

MAY 8, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Picks up first career save Jax earned the save, tossing three scoreless innings and striking out two while allowing two hits, a walk and a hit batsman in a 7-1 win over Detroit.

Impact Jax got the unconventional save by tossing three innings in a lopsided affair. After making 14 starts last year, the righty has pitched entirely in relief for the Twins in 2022. Thursday's three-inning save was his longest appearance of the season and first save at any level in professional baseball. He's allowed two runs and has 11:3 K:BB in nine innings of work on the campaign.

APRIL 29, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Returns to big club The Twins recalled Jax from Triple-A St. Paul on Tuesday.

Impact Jax had been preparing for a starting role for St. Paul after he was optioned to the affiliate Thursday, but his turn in the rotation never came up before he was called back up to Minnesota. He's expected to serve as a multi-inning option out of the bullpen while he's up with the Twins.

APRIL 12, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Optioned to Triple-A Jax was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Impact Jax was moved to the bullen this spring as the Twins were likely setting him up for a middle relief role. It will be interesting to see if he's moved back to the starting rotation at Triple-A.

APRIL 7, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Moving to bullpen Jax will move to the bullpen and work in a relief role this season, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. Jax will get ready for one- to three-inning assignments, two or three time...

Impact Jax finished his first big-league season with a 6.37 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 65:29 K:BB across 82 innings. He was a starter in 14 of 18 outings. He'll try to win a role in middle relief. Jax and Lewis Thorpe moving to the bullpen could be a sign the Twins are set to bring in more veteran starting pitchers or are ready to have younger talent contend for rotation roles.

MARCH 16, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Finishes season on high note Jax (4-5) earned the win over Kansas City on Saturday, pitching five shutout innings during which he allowed one hit and two walks while striking out three.

Impact Jax put together an up-and-down rookie campaign, and he saved his best for last as Saturday's outing was his first in which he didn't allow a run. The right-hander surrendered just one hit -- a third-inning single -- and didn't allow any runners to reach second base. Jax finished his first big-league season with a 6.37 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 65:29 K:BB across 82 innings. Moving forward, he'll need to do a better job of keeping the ball in the park to find sustained success, as his 2.52 HR/9 in 2021 ranks third-highest among pitchers who have thrown at least 50 innings.

OCTOBER 3, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Jax sharp as Twins stop Perez, shut out Royals 4-0

Griffin Jax and a trio of relievers combined on a three-hitter and the Minnesota Twins blanked Salvador Perez and the Kansas City Royals 4-0

OCTOBER 3, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Allows four runs in loss Jax (3-5) allowed four runs on six hits while striking out two over five innings as he took the loss against the Blue Jays on Sunday.

Impact Jax was punished by the long ball Sunday. He allowed two runners on in the second before serving up a three-run blast to Danny Jansen to give the Blue Jays a 3-1 lead. George Springer later added a home run of his own after hitting a solo shot against Jax in the fifth. Jax would end up finishing the frame before calling it a day at 83 pitches. He was finding the strike zone a lot, as he threw 61 strikes and didn't walk anybody but was hurt by a few big mistakes. The 26-year-old hasn't won a game since Aug. 10 and sports an ugly 6.78 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 62:27 K:BB over 77 innings this season. He's projected to take the hill one more time in Kansas City next weekend.

SEPTEMBER 27, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Twins rookie review: First impressions of 2021's graduating prospect class, from Alex Kirilloff to Griffin Jax What to make of rookies Alex Kirilloff, Bailey Ober, Trevor Larnach, Ryan Jeffers, Nick Gordon, Jorge Alcala, Brent Rooker and Griffin Jax.

SEPTEMBER 27, 2021 • THEATHLETIC.COM

Longball bites Griffin Jax, Twins in 5-2 loss to Blue Jays The first ball landed just past an outstretched Nick Gordon, who raced back from his position at shortstop to try to nab it. The second drop...

SEPTEMBER 26, 2021 • TWINCITIES.COM

Jax expected to start for Minnesota against Toronto

The Blue Jays will start Alek Manoah on Sunday while the Twins are expected to counter with Griffin Jax

SEPTEMBER 26, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Whiffs six in three frames Jax didn't factor in the decision against the Cubs on Tuesday, pitching three innings and allowing three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out six.

Impact The right-handed rookie gave up one run in each of the three innings in which he pitched, with the final two tallies coming by way of the long ball. Though it wasn't a very efficient outing -- Jax needed 72 pitches to retire nine batters -- he did flash some solid strikeout stuff, as his six punchouts were his most since he fanned 10 on Aug. 10. Jax has looked good at times this season, but his overall 6.75 ERA suggests that his first taste of the big leagues has been more struggle than success. He's expected to next take the mound Sunday at home in a tough matchup versus Toronto.

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Jax expected to start for the Twins against Cubs

The Cubs will send Alec Mills to the mound Tuesday and the Twins will give Griffin Jax the start

SEPTEMBER 21, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Bested by Cleveland Jax (3-4) allowed five runs (three earned) on seven hits and a walk over 4.2 innings to take the loss Wednesday against Cleveland. He also had three strikeouts.

Impact Jax kept Cleveland off the board until the fourth inning when Bobby Bradley broke a scoreless deadlock on a run-scoring double. Cleveland tacked on four more runs in the following frame, the big blast coming on Oscar Mercado's three-run homer. Jax has been throttled to the tune of a 9.36 ERA over his last five starts, yielding eight home runs in that stretch.

SEPTEMBER 16, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Jax expected to start as Twins host the Indians

The Twins will roll out Griffin Jax to the mound Wednesday and the Indians plan to give Cal Quantrill the start

SEPTEMBER 15, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Allows four runs in no-decision Jax allowed four unearned runs on five hits and one walk while striking out four across six innings in the loss to the Royals on Friday.

Impact Jax surrendered a three-run home run to Andrew Benintendi in the first inning. He gave up a fourth run in the fourth frame on a Michael Taylor double. The 26-year-old has allowed 23 earned runs in his last four outings. On the season, he has a 6.72 ERA and 1.37 WHIP with 51 strikeouts in 64.1 innings.

SEPTEMBER 11, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Jax expected to start for the Twins against the Royals

The Twins are expected to send Griffin Jax to the mound Friday and the Royals will give Daniel Lynch the start

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Yields four runs in no-decision Jax allowed four runs on six hits and a walk over 4.2 innings in Sunday's win over the Rays. He struck out three and did not factor in the decision.

Impact Jax kept the Rays off the board for two innings before coughing up a two-run blast to Brandon Lowe in the third. He allowed another run in the fifth and was charged with a fourth and final run after Austin Meadows went deep off Caleb Thielbar. Jax has been hammered for 19 runs over 14.1 innings (11.93 ERA) over his last three outings. He's lined up to face Kansas City at home next week.

SEPTEMBER 6, 2021 • ROTOWIRE