Jovani Morán #52

Jovani Morán Moreno (joe-vah-nee mo-ran)...X: @JovaniPG...Instagram: @jmoran4240...Was rated as the second-best prospect out of Puerto Rico and the 300th overall prospect, by Baseball America entering the 2015 Draft...Attended the Carlos Beltrán Baseball Academy in Puerto Rico and was recruited to play at the University of South Florida...Has a cat...His favorite Puerto Rican foods are rice, pigeon beans and pork...If he wasn't a baseball player, would have become an electrical mechanic...Participated in 2023 TwinsFest at Target Field in January...His favorite food to make is Mofongo with shrimp, which is a Puerto Rican plantain dish...If he had to choose another career, he would be an athletic trainer.

2024

Missed the entire season recovering from Tommy John surgery.

2023

Pitched for Team Puerto Rico during World Baseball Classic for first time in career...Appeared in three games and went 1-0, 3.38 ERA (2.2 IP, 1 ER) with one hit allowed, two walks and five strikeouts...Made Opening Day roster for first time in career and spent first four months in bullpen with Twins...Allowed two home runs in first three appearances from April 2-8 but then posted a homerless streak of 32.2 innings in next 31 appearances from April 10-July 7...Became one of club's primary set-up men from early May to early June, posting an ERA of 1.26 (14.1 IP, 2 ER) with seven holds, five walks and 16 strikeouts from May 4-June 11...Posted 8.2 scoreless inning streak from May 16-June 3, the longest of career...Finished May with a 1.50 ERA (12.0 IP, 2 ER) with 13 strikeouts in 12 games...Earned first Major League win on June 21 vs. Boston, pitching 1.0 scoreless inning with no hits allowed, one walk and two strikeouts in a Twins 5-4 victory...Posted an 8.22 ERA (15.1 IP, 14 ER) in 18 appearances from June 15-Aug. 5 and was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul on Aug. 6...Placed on seven-day injured list with St. Paul on Aug. 31 with a left forearm strain and did not pitch again...Recalled by Minnesota and placed on 60-day IL to get Chris Paddack back on 40-man roster on Sept. 24...Posted career highs with Minnesota in games (43), innings pitched (42.1) and holds (nine)...Allowed just five of his 25 inherited runners to score for a 20.0 IRS%, the best on the Twins (min. 20 IR)...Held left-handed hitters to a .190 batting average with a .562 OPS and one extra-base hit for Minnesota, while right-handers hit .247 with a .755 OPS and eight extra-base hits...Combined to go 2-2, 4.62 ERA (50.2 IP, 26 ER) with 36 walks, 56 strikeouts and a .227 opponent batting average in 49 games between St. Paul and Minnesota...Was not tendered a contract by Minnesota on Nov. 17 but re-signed with Twins on a two-year Minor League contract on Nov. 18.

2022

Was in Twins Spring Training for first time in career and optioned to Triple-A St. Paul on April 3...Began season with Saints and struck out 14 batters in 7.1 innings pitched over first six appearances from April 6-28...Recalled by Minnesota May 2, one of five different stints with the Twins during season...12 of his first 15 appearances with Minnesota were scoreless from May 4-July 17, posting a 0.96 ERA (18.2 IP, 2 ER) in that span...each of his first six appearances were scoreless with Twins from May 4-June 6 (6.2 IP)…Earned first career save June 5 at Toronto, pitching 0.1 innings in a Twins 8-6 victory...Set career-highs in innings pitched (3.0) and strikeouts (5) Aug.31 vs. Boston...Struck out at least one batter in 24 of 31 games and multiple batters in 18 games with Twins...Did not allow a home run on season (40.2 IP)…yet to allow a home run in career (36 games, 48.2 IP)…Posted a 49.7% whiff rate on his changeup, while holding opponents to a .101 batting average on that pitch…Posted a 11.95 strikeouts-per-9.0 innings pitched ratio, ranking 14th among AL relievers...that figure also set a Twins rookie record and is 11th-best in club history among all relievers...Combined to go 1-3, 3.62 ERA (64.2 IP, 26 ER) with 32 walks, 97 strikeouts, a .208 opponent batting average and a .603 opponent OPS in 51 games between St. Paul and Minnesota...Selected to pitch for Team Puerto Rico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, marking first career selection.

2021

Began the year with Double-A Wichita, going 2-1, 1.91 ERA (37.2 IP, 8 ER), 14 walks, 64 strikeouts and a .112 opponent batting average (14-for-125) in 20 games for the Wind Surge...17 of his 20 Double-A outings lasted more than 1.0 inning, including 11 appearances of at least 2.0 innings...Promoted to Triple-A St. Paul on July 16 and made his first career appearance at that level July 17 vs. Columbus, tossing 2.2 scoreless innings (1 H, 1 BB, 5 K)...Matched his career-high with six strikeouts in 2.2 innings Aug. 28 at Toledo...went 2-1, 3.03 ERA (29.2 IP, 10 ER), 18 walks and 45 strikeouts in 15 relief appearances for the Saints...Went 4-2, 2.41 ERA (67.1 IP, 18 ER), 32 walks and 109 strikeouts in 35 relief outings between Double-A and Triple-A...his ERA ranked fifth in the Twins' system (minimum 50.0 IP)...Had his contract selected by the Twins on Sept. 11 and made his major league debut Sept. 12 vs. Kansas City, tossing 1.1 scoreless innings (2 H, 2 BB, 2 K)...entered in the fifth and fanned Nicky Lopez for his first career strikeout...Made five appearances for Minnesota, all in relief...entered games once in the fourth inning, twice in the fifth and twice in the sixth...Worked a career-high 2.0 innings and recorded a career-best four strikeouts on Sept. 25 vs. Toronto...Named reliever on Twins MiLB.com organizational All-Star team...Ended the season ranked as the 24th-best prospect in the Twins' system, per MLB.com.

2020

Did not play in a professional game, as the minor league season was cancelled due to COVID-19.

2019

Split the season between GCL Twins and Double-A Pensacola, going 2-2 with a 4.54 ERA (37.2 IP, 19 ER), 25 walks and 55 strikeouts in 23 games as a reliever...spent the bulk of the year with the Blue Wahoos, going 2-2 with a 4.98 ERA (34.1 IP, 19 ER), 23 walks and 50 strikeouts...was on the 7-day Injured List twice (May 6-22, May 27-July 15) and appeared in three games on rehab assignment with the GCL Twins (3.1 IP, 2 H, 2 BB,  5 K)...struck out a season-high-tying five batters in a season-high 3.0 innings in relief on August 18 at Mississippi...following the minor league season, pitched for Salt River in the Arizona Fall League, going 0-1 with a 7.00 ERA (9.0 IP, 7 ER), 12 walks and 14 strikeouts in nine relief appearances. 

2018

Spent the season with Low-A Cedar Rapids and High-A Fort Myers, going 9-3 with a 2.25 ERA (76.0 IP, 29 ER), 35 walks and 107 strikeouts in 37 games (1 start)...his 2.25 ERA ranked third in the organization (min. 50.0 IP) and his 107 strikeouts tied for eighth most...began the year with Cedar Rapids and was promoted to Fort Myers on July 11...earned the win in his first game with Fort Myers on July 11 (2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K).

2017

Spent entire season with Rookie-Elizabethton, going 3-1 with a 0.36 ERA (24.2 IP, 1 ER), six walks and 45 strikeouts in 11 relief appearances...earned first career win on June 30 at Kingsport (3.2 IP, 1 H, 4 K)...both of the runs he allowed (1 ER) occurred in the same game, on August 22...permitted 18 base runners and held opposing hitters to a .145 (12-for-83) batting average...fanned a career-high six batters twice, on June 25 vs. Pulaski and July 7 vs. Johnson City...retired all 12 batters he faced, striking out seven, while earning the save in both of his two playoff appearances.

2016

Missed the entire season recovering from left elbow surgery.

2015

Went 0-2 with a 4.12 ERA (19.2 IP, 9 ER), nine walks and 17 strikeouts in six starts for the Rookie GCL Twins in his first professional outings... made his pro debut on July 30, allowing two runs in 0.2 innings (2 BB, 1 K)...five of his six starts lasted at least 3.0 innings, with the lone exception being his pro debut...worked a career-high 5.0 innings on August 28 vs. the GCL Red Sox.