Relaxed, Hungry, Humble: Twins Pitching Prospect Vying to Make an Impact

If you’re a 19th-round pick in the MLB Draft, the odds are long that you’ll make an impact at the MLB level. The Twins selected left-handed pitcher Jaylen Nowlin in the 19th round in 2021, 579th overall. He signed for $160,000, and has gone almost unnoticed in a Twins system increasingly deep with intriguing arms. Yet, Nowlin has continued to defy the odds in his young career. Now pitching in Double-A, Nowlin is starting to look the part of an arm who could have an impact for the Twins' major-league team in time.

"Great human, he just wants to go out and dominate on his day," said Wichita pitching coach DJ Engle of Nowlin, "He’s a hard worker who’s built himself up physically, especially over the last couple of years, and he’s seeing good results."

While there have been ups and downs to Nowlin’s development and performance throughout his professional career, he’s consistently posted effectively at every minor-league stop on his pathway to date. Nowlin picked up baseball from an early age, and grew up playing pretty much any sport you can name. He competed with and against a ton of talent in baseball-rich Georgia, including active big-leaguers Lawrence Butler, Taj Bradley, and Michael Harris II.

"I didn’t have to go far to see a lot of talent," Nowlin said, in an interview with Twins Daily's Seth Stohs. Those experiences, in addition to his time at Chipola College, helped shape Nowlin’s development curve significantly. Iron sharpens iron, after all.

Fast-forward to 2022, and Nowlin is in his first full season as a professional pitcher. He began to turn heads when he put up dominant strikeout numbers at Fort Myers, racking up 89 strikeouts in 56 2/3 innings pitched, and sporting a 3.65 ERA as a 21-year-old. He ended the year with a brief stint at High-A Cedar Rapids, before returning to Iowa for the majority of the 2023 season. While there was an adjustment curve in his time at Cedar Rapids, it was enough to earn him a late look at Double-A Wichita, before returning to the Texas League from the outset of the 2024 season. So what’s in Nowlin’s arsenal? What has he been working on? How has he been doing for the Wind Surge? Let’s dig in.

Nowlin throws left-handed from a high three-quarter slot, relying most heavily on his fastball and slider, which play well in tandem. Nowlin’s heater has been as high as 95 miles per hour in 2024. His slider is his best secondary pitch.

"He has a good feel for putting power behind his breaking ball," Engle said. Indeed, Nowlin’s slider has been as high as 88-89 mph this season, while typically sitting 85-86 mph. Nowlin also throws a changeup in the 84-87 mph range, and will mix in a slower curveball at times. So what is Nowlin working on this year?

"The big thing this year has been his slider velocity," Engle said. "Also throwing all the pitches in his mix within the strike zone. The strike zone is the biggest focus."

Nowlin himself expounded on this.

"I want to pound the zone with all my pitches to allow me to go deeper into games," he said. "I’m also working on my mechanics, to maximize my velocity."

The results have been impressive. Through 57 innings pitched in 2024, Nowlin is sporting a 3.63 ERA, 4.01 FIP, and limiting opposing hitters to an OPS against of just .629. He’s throwing more strikes, too. His strike percentage is up around 5% since the beginning of the season, and his walk rate has decreased from 12.1% in April, to 9.1% in June. Nowlin’s personal goal of going deeper into games has been realized. His surge was underscored by the best outing of his professional career on Jun. 16, in which he threw eight innings of one-hit baseball, striking out four, without walking a batter.

Relaxed, hungry, humble. Those three words stand out when listening to Nowlin talk about his craft and desire to succeed, or his coaches talking about his work ethic. What does he want Twins fans to know about him?

"Every time I step on the mound, I want to win more than anything. I am giving it everything I have on my day."

The odds might be long for a 19th-round pick, but I wouldn’t bet against Nowlin, he continues to defy them on his journey through the minors.

Interested in learning more about the Minnesota Twins' top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!