Blue Jays trade deadline target: Jhoan Duran

Finding a solid closer in baseball is one of the toughest things. It’s a gamble, and the teams have been addicted to trial and error.

The Minnesota Twins have been winning on their gamble so far with pitcher Jhoan Duran. The potential trade candidate could assist contending clubs like the Toronto Blue Jays

Scouting Report

Duran is a monstrous right-handed relief pitcher, towering at 6-foot-5 with a strong-powerful overall physical makeup, and a live arm. Duran, being a closer, works from the stretch with a fluid, repeated motion and delivery. 

His overall reach to the plate is effortless due to his beneficial vertical limbs and loose hips down the slope of the mound. Duran has a very effective four-pitch mix with a palette of valuable options beyond his four-seam fastball. The fastball averages at a 94.9 mph overall; however, the right-hander has heated that pitch to 104.8 mph, with more of a consistent 101 mph when in triple-digits. His fastball is live and electric, but not his most relied-on option, and it is his lowest put-away percentage of his arsenal, sitting at 20.6%. The heater catches the zone often with good command. His sweeper is his least-used pitch and is responsible for only three of his 52 strikeouts this season.

One of two very dependable options is his split finger, which is his most-used pitch. The split finger has a 22.5% put-away rate with 12 strikeouts recorded. Duran’s obvious out-pitch is the knuckle-curve. This put-away option holds a 30.3% put-away value, 23 strikeouts, a .222 batting average against and a 41.9% WHIFF percentage. 

So what has Duran done with this highly effective repertoire? This season, he’s pitched in 48 games with 35 games finished, and 48 and 1/3 innings of work. He struck out 52 hitters, walked 16, and only allowed 10 earned runs. Duran has 16 saves with only two blown opportunities.