Pitcher · 2026

Louis Varland

Age: 29
B/T: L/R
Height: 6' 1"
Weight: 205 lb
Number: #77

Born: December 9, 1997 in St. Paul, MN, USA
MLB debut: September 7, 2022
Drafted: 2019, round 15
College: Concordia-St.Paul

dbWAR: 2.6
IP: 60.2
ERA: 1.34
FIP: 1.88
K/9: 11.1
FIP−: 45

Louis Varland is a relief pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays. In 2026 he struck out 75 batters over 60.2 innings across 54 appearances, going 5-4. His ERA of 1.34 was 68.0% lower than the league average of 4.18 — the best on his team, and 4th of 467 among MLB pitchers with 20+ innings. Stripping out defence, his 1.88 FIP suggests that his ERA had some help behind him. He missed bats on 28.9% of swings (15.0% of every pitch he threw), walked 7.2% of the batters he faced and struck out 31.6%. His 1.9 dbWAR is built from that FIP rather than runs allowed, so it credits him for what he controls and not for the defence behind him.

League context

Percentile among qualified pitchers, 2026.

FIP1.88

K/911.1

WHIP1.01

WAR1.9

Platoon splits

How left- and right-handed hitters fare against him.

Opponent batting by the side the hitter bats from, 2026. Counted from play-by-play, so totals can differ from the box-score season line by a plate appearance or two.
Split	PA	AB	H	HR	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	wOBA	K%
vs LHB	127	118	23	0	8	40	.195	.244	.220	.212	31.5%
vs RHB	110	100	21	2	9	35	.210	.273	.290	.256	31.8%

Pitch sequencing

What Louis Varland throws in each count, and what he follows each pitch with. Select any cell for the breakdown.

ShowBatter

Four-seamKnuckle curveChangeupSliderSinker

Select a count to see exactly what Louis Varland throws in it.

Pitch arsenal

What he throws, how hard, and how often it misses in 2026.


Four-Seam Fastball	40.0%	388	98.6	2,265	60.6%	23.5%
Knuckle Curve	31.5%	306	87.5	2,545	46.1%	35.3%
Changeup	17.6%	171	93.0	1,705	48.5%	38.7%
Slider	8.2%	80	91.7	2,488	51.2%	16.3%
Sinker	2.7%	26	97.0	2,131	30.8%	0.0%

Louis Varland's arsenal by usage. Velocity is average release speed in mph, spin in rpm, and whiff rate is misses per swing — the cleanest single measure of whether a pitch beats hitters.

Pitching

Standard and advanced, by season.


2026	54	0	60.2	5	4	24	44	9	75	17	1.34	1.88	1.01	11.1	2.5	32	45	1.9
2025	74	1	72.2	4	3	0	65	24	75	22	2.97	3.14	1.20	9.3	2.7	71	75	1.2
2024	16	7	49.2	0	6	0	68	42	49	16	7.61	5.54	1.69	8.9	2.9	187	136	-0.5

Head to head

Put Louis Varland beside up to three others.

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Louis Varland

Similar players

Nearest 2026 seasons by command, run prevention and role, on rate statistics rather than totals.

Brent HeadrickNYY

ERA: 1.52
FIP: 2.31
SO: 71
WAR: 1.5

Very close

Grant TaylorCWS

ERA: 2.28
FIP: 2.35
SO: 78
WAR: 1.5

Didier FuentesATL

ERA: 2.49
FIP: 2.30
SO: 65
WAR: 1.3

Juan MorilloAZ

ERA: 2.47
FIP: 2.41
SO: 56
WAR: 1.2

How these are computed

wOBA uses linear weights measured from this season's own play-by-play rather than published constants, and wRC+ is park-adjusted against that same league. dbWAR is our own open implementation — not fWAR or bWAR — and the full derivation, including its simplifications, is on the methodology page.