Twins' Jordan Balazovic showing he can handle role as big-league reliever

SEATTLE – Seven years after being drafted as a 17-year-old high school senior, Jordan Balazovic spent the All-Star break at his parents' home in suburban Toronto. It was his first trip home as as a bona fide major leaguer, the righthander having made seven mostly impressive appearances over the past month for the Twins entering Monday's game against the Mariners.

His buddies must have greeted him with newfound respect, right?

"Nah, not really. I'm not really sure how many even know," the Mississauga, Ontario, native said with a shrug. "If I played hockey, it would be different. A bunch of kids from my high school got drafted into the [Ontario Hockey League], kind of a semi-professional league, and it's like, wow, they're a big deal. It's not the same with baseball. It's more like, 'You're still playing? That's nice.' "

But it really is nice, for both the Twins and Balazovic, especially considering the irregular route the 24-year-old Balazovic took to get here. Once one of the Twins' highest-rated pitching prospects, the 2016 fifth-round draft pick put his career in jeopardy with an awful 2022, when his walk rate shot up to more than one every two innings, and he gave up 20 home runs in just 70⅔ innings at Class AAA St. Paul. Then he suffered a broken jaw in February after being punched outside a bar in Fort Myers just before spring training, sidelining Balazovic when the major league staff could have been working with him.

The disastrous 2022 season ended Balazovic's chance of being a starting pitcher, at least for the moment — but it might have hastened his journey to the major leagues. As a long reliever, he was included in the revolving-door approach that the Twins take with their bullpen, along with Cole Sands, Josh Winder and Brent Headrick. But Balazovic has now been with the Twins for a month without being returned to St. Paul.

That's because of how he has pitched.

"Any time a young pitcher comes up, there's some level of uncertainty. You're not sure where that player is going to fall in, how confident he's going to be the first few times out there, whether his stuff will play the way you think it will," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "He's done well. He's not afraid when you give him the ball. He wants it. I think he feels like he absolutely belongs here. And he does."

He does because, like teammate Joe Ryan, his fastball plays beyond its velocity. Balazovic throws that pitch, which averages 94.7 miles per hour, 44% of the time, and hitters have yet to track it well. They swing and miss 19.5% of the time, and their collective batting average is .167 against it. Balazovic had given up only two runs so far, both of them on solo home runs, giving him a 1.64 ERA, although he has allowed four inherited runners to score.

"The stuff plays really well against righthanded hitters, and he's going to keep working on a combination of pitches that work on lefthanders, too," said Baldelli, who added that some close-and-late situations might be in his future. "We'll try to match him up as well as possible. But he's another guy that we'll see out there at the end of the game. If it makes sense, we will put him out there and not hesitate."

Twins pitching prospect Connor Prielipp underwent elbow surgery in Dallas on Monday to repair the ulnar collateral ligament. A brace was attached to hold the ligament in place, but a full replacement — Tommy John surgery, like the procedure he underwent in 2021, shortly after being drafted out of Alabama — was not necessary.

The 22-year-old from Tomah, Wis., has pitched only twice as a professional, totaling 6⅔ minor league innings. He will miss the remainder of the season.