There’s an old saying in baseball that, “If you’re good enough, they will find you”, and recently acquired right handed pitcher, Gus Varland, is living proof of that. Varland has had to knock down a bunch of doors to get to where he’s at, and now, through hard work and perseverance, he is knocking on the door of the Major Leagues.
Excellence On and Off the Field
Varland grew up in Maplewood, Minnesota and wasn’t a draft pick out of High School, or a Division 1 recruit, and has always been “under the radar” so to speak. The odds have always been stacked against him to make it as far as he has, but his high character and intangible qualities have provided the perspective he has needed to keep going. He is a tenacious competitor, confident but not cocky, and, now, has grown into a skill set that is Major League caliber.
Knocking Down Doors
Varland’s excellence can be traced back to his days at North St. Paul High School where he was a 4 year letterman, an All-Suburban Conference and all District player, and also a member of the National Honors Society. He spent his Summers dominating the American Legion baseball ranks, and grew to love competing, commanding the mound, and just simply playing the game of baseball. After graduation Varland decided to stay close to home and play for Concordia University of St. Paul and for the programs winningest ever coach, Mark “Lunch” McKenzie.
Varland loves his alma mater and is very thankful for his experience there
I was a late bloomer and wasn’t really recruited out of High School. The Short Stop on my team went there in College and he recommended me to go over there for a visit and I went there. All of the sudden my Freshman year I’m hitting 90 with just a few mechanical changes. So I want to thank my coaches for helping me with my mechanical stuff and helping me get noticed by the A’s.
Road to Radar Map
Varland’s first couple of years at CSP were good, but being at a DII school, were certainly nothing that stood out enough to put him on the draft radar. Varland knew, with the situation he was in, that he needed to play in a Summer League that would give him the chance to gain exposure and play against some of the best College baseball players. After his Sophomore year at Concordia, in the Summer of 2017, the St. Paul native took his talents to the talent-rich Northwoods League in Canada and had a great Summer. The Northwoods League is renowned for giving “under the radar” type guys, like Gus Varland, the opportunity and exposure they need to get noticed and Varland took full advantage of the opportunity. He posted a 1.42 ERA in the Northwoods League and showed he had Major League caliber stuff.
Going into the Northwoods things just clicked and I started doing well and it was the first time I started thinking I had a chance at this. I remember this Yankees scout and it was the first Scout ever that came and talked to me and I was like “Wow”, and so I began to start taking it even more serious and one thing led to another and here I am.
Springboard to Success
Varland took the success he had in the Northwoods League and used it as a springboard for his Junior year at CSP. During his Junior Year, in 2018, Varland became a D2 All American, the American Baseball Coaches Associations Central pitcher of the year, the Northern Sun Conference Player of the Year, and also made the Northern Sun All Academic Team. As a Junior he also set Concordia’s lowest single season ERA at 1.04, threw 2 no hitters, and had over a 5/1 strikeout to walk ratio as a Golden Bear. He also held opponents to a .163 average and just 34 hits in 60.1 innings pitched and that performance, combined with the Major League caliber stuff he showed in the Northwoods League got him drafted. Varland was drafted in the 14th round of the 2018 Draft and became the highest draft pick in the history of Concordia St. Paul just ahead of his brother, Louie Varland, who pitched for CSP in 2019 and was drafted in the 15th Round. I’m guessing the Varland family has lifetime passes to all sporting events at Concordia St. Paul and as a side note, Louie Varland, Gus’s brother, was the Minnesota Twins Minor League Starting pitcher of the Year in 2021 so these guys are legit.
Quick Start
Varland parlayed the momentum from his Junior year in College into a very quick start with the A’s and in 2018, between Rookie ball and Class A, posted a 0.95 ERA and had a 6/1 strikeout to walk ratio. He became familiar with modern day analytics and learned how to use the high spin rate of his fastball up in the zone and it was a game changer.
With the new technology they showed me it showed that I should live up in the zone, which I knew a little bit in College too because it was my strike out pitch and it worked, but living up there just made it that much easier to get guys out. I’ve paired that with the slider they’ve taught me and things have worked out really well.
But, just when it looked like Varland was ready to storm through the A’s system, the dreaded Tommy John struck in 2019, Covid cancelled 2020, and then he got traded to the Dodgers in 2021. In 2021, as a Dodger, Varland threw just 34.1 innings in an attempt to build his arm strength back up after his Tommy John surgery. There is never good timing to have Tommy John surgery, but, with the 2020 Minor League season being cancelled, no one else got to play either, so Varland, in essence, got a free year to recover.
Tommy John is a terrible thing, but, at the same time, for my career, I was going to miss 2020 anyways with Tommy John, and so when Covid hit, and no one else got to play either, I basically got a free year to recover.
Varland was a top 30 prospect in the A’s organization when he was traded, so he is a Major League caliber prospect that is trying to overcome a lot of stops and starts that have slowed down the massive amount of momentum he had after 2018. He simply needs to stay injury free, pile up some innings to rebuild his arm strength and he will eventually become the Major Leaguer most people in the A’s organization projected him to become.
Knows How to Pitch
Varland commands both sides of the plate, changes eye levels very well and has learned to use the top of the zone to get a lot of swing and miss. He typically is a “strike thrower” that has a great K/BB ratio and has shown the potential on several different levels to post very low ERA’s. He is extremely competitive, knows how to command the mound, is very smart and knows how to use analytics to his advantage. He also brings a “Bulldog” mentality to the mound with him when he pitches and is ultra competitive and confident on the mound.
I go out there with the mentality that no one is better than me. It’s kind of cocky to think like that, but you need that kind of confidence because you’re facing guys that are on the verge of being in the Major Leagues so you have to have confidence and a Bulldog mentality. You think like you won’t ever get beat and go out there and pitch every game like it’s your last.
Varland, like most great pitchers, centers everything around his fastball and when he throws it to the “glove side” corner it looks like a ball to lefties, then “hops” back over the plate due to the pitches “riding effect”. In other words, when a left handed hitter has to commit to whether to swing at this pitch or not, it appears as if the pitch is going to sink down and out of the zone. But, because of the high spin rate of the pitch, it doesn’t sink, and thus gives the “riding” effect and stays in the zone. This pitch, combined with the “cutter” Varland is developing should give him the ability to get left handed hitters out.
Varland has a very high spin rate on his fastball and has learned to throw it up in the zone to get above the modern day uppercut of so many Professional hitters.
Varland has more than just a fastball though. He has worked really hard on developing a change up that works off of his fastball and has a really good feel for the pitch. His changeup has a lot of movement and is, most definitely, a plus pitch.
Varland also has a good slider that is most effective to right handed hitters.
One of the things that Varland is adding to his arsenal is a cutter. His fastball and changeup are plus pitches, his slider is good against righties, but what he feels as if he needs is a pitch to get left handers out and Varland and the organization feel as if the cutter is the pitch that can do that for him. The progress of that pitch will be fun to watch in 2022 as Varland gets “let off the leash” so to speak.
Measurables
One of the greatest aspects of modern day analytics is that it has made it easier to measure guys that aren’t in the most visible positions or playing at the highest levels. A 95 MPH fastball is a 95 MPH fastball, spin rate is spin rate and vertical break is vertical break. It doesn’t matter if it’s thrown off of a Major League mound or a DII mound, the measurables have shown evaluators that it’s all the same. Analytics have put guys like Gus Varland in situations where all they need is a chance to be seen and measured, and when they have the personal qualities like Varland has, it makes it much easier to put him on the radar. Varland has still yet to be “taken off the leash” so to speak, and so 2022 is going to be a big year for him in terms of building up a pitch count and continuing to show progress in terms of recovering from his Tommy John surgery. He is working his way back to full health, but as long as he can stay healthy he will, one day, pitch in the Major Leagues and stay above the radar for good.
