Twins closer Jhoan Duran proving last year was no fluke, but is passed over for All-Star Game

Jhoan Duran had an excellent rookie season, one of the best debuts by a Twins reliever in franchise history, but his primary motivation in the offseason was proving there was nothing lucky about it.

There shouldn't be any doubts now.

If it felt like he came out of nowhere last year, his first season as a full-time reliever after pitching only 16 innings in 2021, then this season represented a chance to show he was one of the premier closers in the majors.

He had a first half worthy of the American League All-Star team, even if he wasn't picked, with a 2.10 ERA across 31 relief appearances, and 12 saves in 15 opportunities.

"Coming into year two, my first goal was to be healthy because some people say the first year is like good luck, something like that," said Duran, who gave up two runs — one earned — in the 10th inning of Friday's 3-1 loss to Baltimore. "I don't think so."

Duran was passed over as a potential All-Star Game replacement Friday when Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase announced he will return to the Dominican Republic over the break because he is about to become a father. Angels closer Carlos Estévez, who entered Friday having converted all 21 of his save opportunities with an ERA 0.07 lower than Duran, was announced as the replacement on the AL roster.

The 25-year-old Duran has a much higher walk rate than he did last season, but his other stats look almost identical.

Opposing hitters know what to expect from the 6-5 righthander — 104 mph fastballs, 100 mph splinkers and curveballs — and they look just as puzzled as they were a year ago. Entering Friday, Duran held hitters to a .172 batting average while striking out nearly 1.4 batters per inning.

"I'm very happy because that's the season I'm looking for," he said. "Better than last year. Like last year, the start of the season was a little bit trouble. This one is better. I feel more comfortable."

Duran set high goals before the season. In his mind, all he's done is met his own expectations.

"For me, the good luck, you have it if you're working hard," Duran said. "If you're not, you aren't going to have good luck."

Bailey Ober hasn't thrown more than 109 innings in a season since he was drafted by the Twins in 2017, and he could surpass that mark by the end of this month.

Ober, 27, reached 101⅓ innings after Friday's start, which includes 17⅔ innings with the Class AAA Saints before he was called up in April. As long as he continues to pitch well, the Twins don't have any plans to restrict him in the second half.

"I don't see us shutting him down or anything like that," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "There are subtle things we can do. We'll see how he's doing as the year goes on. I think he's holding up well right now. He's shown, really, no signs of anything that we really need to look at."

The Marlins, who are in second place in the National League East, sent star rookie pitcher Eury Pérez to the minor leagues Friday to manage his innings. Pérez, 20, has already thrown a career-high 84 innings.

• Two Twins minor leaguers earned monthly honors. Infielder Tanner Schobel, a second-round pick last year, was the Class A-Advanced Midwest League player of the month for June after he hit .323 with seven homers and 26 RBI in 23 games. Righthander C.J. Culpepper was the Class A Florida State League's pitcher of the month with a 3-1 record and a 1.35 ERA in four starts.

• Dallas Keuchel, the 35-year-old former AL Cy Young Award winner, gave up five hits and four walks but no runs in 5⅔ innings in his third start for the Saints, who scored four seventh-inning runs in a 4-1 victory at Iowa.