Twins Rookie Pitcher Throwing 103 MPH Heat — Regularly

Minnesota Twins rookie fireballing reliever Jhoan Duran picked up his 2nd save Saturday night. But that's not what had observers drooling. Duran was touching 103 mph on the radar gun... and was close to that mark on a regular basis.  

You read that right, Jhoan Duran is tossing 103. pic.twitter.com/PAQmUKdL7F

— MLB (@MLB) May 7, 2022

Twins' fastest pitches, pitch-tracking era (since 2008):

Jhoan Duran: 102.8 mph, Today
Jhoan Duran: 102.6 mph, Today
Jhoan Duran: 102.1 mph, Today
Jhoan Duran: 102.0 mph, 4/15/22
Jhoan Duran: 102.0 mph, 4/11/22

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) May 7, 2022

In fact, Duran now owns the 5 hardest pitches thrown for the Minnesota Twins in the last 14 years (as far back as the 'pitch-tracking' era goes. Three of his pitches in Saturday's breathtaking performance topped 102, a couple of them that close to 103 mph.

As The Athletic's Dan Hayes writes, Duran is "gifted with ungodly stuff." 

He tossed two innings in this latest relief appearance, striking out 5 of the 8 batters he faced over a scoreless two innings, picking up the save. 15-year veteran reliever Joe Smith said of Duran, "Hopefully, it feeds him a little more. Maybe we can see 104 (mph) out of him.”

The 6-foot-5 right-hander now has an insane 42% strikeout rate through 14.2 innings this season. 

Photo Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports