Ryan Jeffers

Ryan Jeffers

27-Year-Old CatcherC
Minnesota Twins
2025 Fantasy Outlook
Jeffers recorded career-highs in games played (122) and home runs (21) as he avoided previous injury issues and served as Minnesota's primary catcher. Jeffers stirred All-Star game talk with a hot start where he hit 12 home runs with a .892 OPS though his first 51 games. He faded in the second half by hitting seven home runs with a .632 OPS in his final 47 games. Jeffers had shown above-average power his previous few seasons, but his hard-hit, exit velocity and other power metrics declined despite his home run totals. He still had above-average bat speed (67th percentile per Baseball Savant), so there's hope for a rebound. Jeffers also took a step back behind the plate where his pitch framing and other defensive metrics were below average. Still, the Twins will count on his bat as power source as the team's primary catcher again. However, Minnesota is dogmatic about sharing playing time between two catchers behind the plate, which limits his counting stats upside. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
From Preseason
$Signed a one-year, $2.43 million contract with the Twins in January of 2024.
Getting Wednesday off
CMinnesota Twins
September 25, 2024
Jeffers is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Marlins.
ANALYSIS
He will take a seat while he and Christian Vazquez continue to alternate starts behind the plate. Jeffers has gone hitless in 12 at-bats over his last four games, bringing his slash line down to .224/.300/.430 for the season.
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Batting Stats
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2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
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Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
8
10
5
12
5
11
16
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
10
6
5
3
2
7
5
1
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+25%
OPS vs LHP
2024
 
 
+18%
OPS vs LHP
2023
 
 
+14%
OPS vs LHP
2022
 
 
+68%
OPS vs LHP
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022vs Left .875 305 42 18 47 1 .266 .347 .528
Since 2022vs Right .702 731 85 24 87 5 .226 .307 .395
2024vs Left .817 141 18 9 18 0 .248 .305 .512
2024vs Right .693 324 38 12 46 3 .216 .297 .396
2023vs Left .940 94 15 6 16 1 .263 .387 .553
2023vs Right .828 241 31 8 27 2 .281 .361 .467
2022vs Left .909 70 9 3 13 0 .306 .377 .532
2022vs Right .540 166 16 4 14 0 .167 .247 .293
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+15%
OPS at Home
2024
 
 
+20%
OPS at Home
2023
 
 
+9%
OPS at Home
2022
 
 
+16%
OPS at Home
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022Home .808 485 66 23 61 2 .255 .331 .478
Since 2022Away .703 551 61 19 73 4 .222 .308 .395
2024Home .803 217 29 12 31 1 .250 .313 .490
2024Away .669 248 27 9 33 2 .205 .287 .382
2023Home .897 155 24 8 19 1 .281 .364 .533
2023Away .823 180 22 6 24 2 .272 .373 .450
2022Home .699 113 13 3 11 0 .230 .319 .380
2022Away .602 123 12 4 16 0 .188 .254 .348
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Ryan Jeffers compare to other hitters?
This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • BB/K
    Walk to strikeout ratio
  • BB Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
  • K Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
  • ISO
    Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
  • AVG
    Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
  • OBP
    On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
  • SLG
    Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
  • OPS
    On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
  • wOBA
    Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Hard Hit Rate
    A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
  • Barrels/PA
    The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Expected BA
    Expected Batting Average.
  • Expected SLG
    Expected Slugging Percentage.
  • Sprint Speed
    The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
  • Ground Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
  • Line Drive %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
  • Fly Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.
BB/K
0.34
 
BB Rate
6.9%
 
K Rate
20.2%
 
BABIP
.238
 
ISO
.206
 
AVG
.226
 
OBP
.300
 
SLG
.432
 
OPS
.732
 
wOBA
.320
 
Exit Velocity
86.9 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
31.7%
 
Barrels/PA
5.8%
 
Expected BA
.227
 
Expected SLG
.386
 
Sprint Speed
22.3 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
39.3%
 
Line Drive %
17.3%
 
Fly Ball %
43.3%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Batting Stats
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Additional Stats
Games By Position
Defensive Stats
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Batted Ball Stats
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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
After an injury-plagued 2022 season, Jeffers showed significant improvement by placing second among catchers in OPS and becoming the primary catcher for the Twins by season end. Jeffers had just a .648 OPS in 2022 and played just seven games after breaking his thumb in July 2022. He began the 2023 season as the backup catcher to Christian Vazquez, though the Twins split the workload behind the plate pretty evenly all year. However, Jeffers started behind the plate in every playoff game. Jeffers has good power with above-average exit velocity (5th among catchers) and Hard Hit % (11th among catchers). He draws walks at a good rate (9.9BB%) which helps somewhat offset a high strikeout rate (27.8% K%). He also improved dramatically against right-handed pitching (.828 OPS) after struggling against righties (career .695 OPS) while feasting on lefties (career .840 OPS). Jeffers was seen as a strong defender but declined in pitch framing last season and his other fielding metrics graded below average. That's a concern for increased playing time. The Twins like to utilize two catchers to reduce wear and tear, so Vazquez will likely split duties again, but Jeffers has more upside with the bat and his power.
After a slow start to the season (hitting .189 with a .601 OPS through his first two months), Jeffers started to get in a groove and was hitting .247 with a four home runs and a .769 OPS from June 1 to July 13. He then broke his right thumb July 14. Jeffers returned for seven games in September, but it was somewhat of a lost season. Jeffers reduced his strikeouts (26.3% K%) and made more contact (career-high 78.8%) but his power declined, which was a little odd since he was in the 91st percentile for Max Exit Velocity. He hit better against lefties (.909 OPS against LHP) continuing a sharp platoon split (career .794 OPS against LHP). The Twins brought in Christian Vazquez on a three-year deal, and they are paying Vazquez more than backup money, so Jeffers may be on the short side of a platoon. Jeffers is seen as a strong defender with grades slightly above average as a pitcher framer and below average as a thrower (45th percentile Pop Time 2B). Given his power and ability to draw walks (9.7% BB%), he could be a viable starting fantasy catcher in AL-only leagues, but the Vazquez addition dampens his mixed-league appeal.
Jeffers had a minor elbow surgery last offseason and dealt with knee and heel injuries in season, and it was largely a season to forget for the 24-year-old backstop. He still brought his trademark excellent defense, and his .202 ISO was in line with career norms. His 36.9 K% looks like a massive outlier, leading to his first pro stop as a below league-average hitter (82 wRC+). With the Twins trading Mitch Garver to Texas, the decks are clear for Jeffers to get as much playing time as he can handle. We shouldn't expect him to approach his career .286 batting average in the minors, but he isn't as bad as the .199 mark he posted last season. Jeffers is a fine C2 in 15-team two-catcher leagues, and he is young enough to take a big enough step forward to become relevant in shallower formats, assuming the Twins don't bring in anyone above him on the depth chart.
Jeffers had a strong rookie year and should be part of the mix at catcher for the Twins this season. Jeffers made the jump to the majors from playing Double-A in 2019, becoming the primary catcher after Mitch Garver was sidelined in August. He responded by hitting .273 with a .791 OPS. His average exit velocity of 91.5 mph was well above average, according to Baseball Savant. He also had a solid 41.7% hard-hit rate. He did strike out at an alarming 30.6% clip and had a high .364 BABIP. His defense was a question earlier in his career, but he was in the 90th percentile for pitch framing and a -2 DRS shows he may not be a liability. His outlook for playing time is uncertain since both he and Garver are right-handed. However, the Twins have made it a point to give catchers adequate rest, so the duo may split playing time evenly.
When the Twins selected Jeffers out of UNC Wilmington with the No. 59 overall pick in 2018, most evaluators believed in his bat but questioned whether his defense would be good enough for him to stick behind the plate. He has been as advertised at the plate and has improved enough as a receiver that his defense is no longer a concern. The pitcher-friendly Florida State League suppressed his numbers at High-A, where he was 20 percent better than league average. His numbers improved across the board after a promotion to Double-A, where he showed off his plus raw power (.195 ISO) and a patient, all-fields approach. Jeffers elevates with intent (45.6 FB%), and is similar in many ways to the player atop the organizational depth chart, Mitch Garver. This year should serve as Jeffers' final tour of the minor leagues before he forms a potent duo with Garver in 2021.
More Fantasy News
Resting for second game
CMinnesota Twins
September 22, 2024
Jeffers is out of the lineup for the second game of Sunday's doubleheader with the Red Sox.
ANALYSIS
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Not in Friday's lineup
CMinnesota Twins
September 20, 2024
Jeffers is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Red Sox.
ANALYSIS
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Retreating to bench
CMinnesota Twins
September 18, 2024
Jeffers is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Guardians.
ANALYSIS
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Getting rest Wednesday
CMinnesota Twins
September 11, 2024
Jeffers is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Angels.
ANALYSIS
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Starting again Sunday
CMinnesota Twins
September 8, 2024
Jeffers will serve as the Twins' designated hitter and bat seventh in Sunday's game against the Royals.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Set for limited role
CMinnesota Twins
December 14, 2022
According to Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic, Jeffers could be limited to starting against left-handed pitching in 2023 after the Twins signed Christian Vazquez to a three-year, $30 million contract.
ANALYSIS
Vazquez will operate as Minnesota's primary catcher, and working on the short side of a platoon is now the best-case scenario for Jeffers. The 25-year-old had an 87 wRC+ in 2022, and he did most of his damage against lefties with a .307/.377/.532 slash line. Vazquez's .271 average across the past four seasons is well above average, especially for a catcher, which paired with his dependability behind the plate makes him the Twins' clear top option.
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