Justin Topa
33-Year-Old
15-Day IL
Injury Kneecap
Est. Return 4/9/2024
2024 Stats
W-L
0-0
ERA
0.00
WHIP
0.00
K
0
SV
0
Rest-of-Season Projections
2024 Fantasy Outlook
With two Tommy John surgeries and only 18.1 major league innings on his resume, Topa looked healthy during spring training after Seattle acquired him via trade last January. The 32-year-old didn't break camp with the Mariners, but he was recalled early in the season and given opportunities to pitch in a setup role. With health prevailing, Topa pitched a career-high 69 innings across 75 appearances (T-2nd among relievers) and finished with 5 wins, 3 saves and 24 holds (T-11th). With a sinker-heavy approach (-8 degree launch angle on batted balls), the right-hander generated a 56.7% groundball rate that was in the 94th percentile. He also implemented a successful cutter against left-handed batters. Topa figures to open 2024 as one of Minnesota's primary setup men after a January trade from Seattle and is a solid target in leagues that count holds, but don't dismiss the health risks that come along with clicking his name in the draft room. Read Past Outlooks
RANKSFrom Preseason
#600
ADP
Lands on IL
Minnesota placed Topa on the 15-day injured list Thursday with left patellar tendinitis.
ANALYSIS
With closer Jhoan Duran also opening the season on the IL with an oblique strain that will likely keep him sidelined for most of April, Topa might have been in position to cover some high-leverage innings out of the bullpen early in the season, but his own knee issue will foil those plans. Topa and Duran are joined on the shelf by four other relievers, leaving Griffin Jax and Brock Stewart as the most likely options to factor into the mix for saves in the first few weeks of the season.
With closer Jhoan Duran also opening the season on the IL with an oblique strain that will likely keep him sidelined for most of April, Topa might have been in position to cover some high-leverage innings out of the bullpen early in the season, but his own knee issue will foil those plans. Topa and Duran are joined on the shelf by four other relievers, leaving Griffin Jax and Brock Stewart as the most likely options to factor into the mix for saves in the first few weeks of the season.
Pitching Stats
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2023
2022
2021
2020
Minor League Game Log
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Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2022
-15%
BAA vs LHP
2024
No Stats
BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2022vs Left | .219 | 26 | 11 | 21 | 2 | |||
Since 2022vs Right | .259 | 39 | 11 | 49 | 2 | |||
2024vs Left | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
2024vs Right | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
2023vs Left | .216 | 23 | 10 | 19 | 2 | |||
2023vs Right | .253 | 38 | 8 | 42 | 2 | |||
2022vs Left | .250 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |||
2022vs Right | .304 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 0 | |||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2022
-30%
ERA on Road
2024
No Stats
ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2022Home | 3.35 | 1.43 | 37.2 | 8.8 | 3.1 | ||||
Since 2022Away | 2.33 | 0.98 | 38.2 | 6.5 | 2.1 | ||||
2024Home | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
2024Away | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
2023Home | 2.90 | 1.35 | 31.0 | 9.6 | 2.9 | ||||
2023Away | 2.37 | 0.97 | 38.0 | 6.6 | 1.9 | ||||
2022Home | 5.40 | 1.80 | 6.2 | 5.4 | 4.1 | ||||
2022Away | 0.00 | 1.50 | .666666 | 0.0 | 13.5 | ||||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Stat Review
How does Justin Topa compare to other relievers?
This section compares his stats with all relief pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 30 innings)*. 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, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
K/BB
3.39K/9
8.0BB/9
2.3HR/9
0.5Fastball
95.1 mphERA
2.61WHIP
1.14BABIP
.299GB/FB
2.79Left On Base
72.2%Exit Velocity
80.7 mphBarrels/BBE
2.0%Spin Rate
2226 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
22.9%Swinging Strike
8.4%Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Justin Topa See More
Brad Johnson looks at the American League Central, and in Cleveland, he's been won over by Shane Bieber, whose once rather-average stuff has improved significantly.
Several key reliever signings have shaken up Ryan Rufe's closer rankings, allowing Jhoan Duran to move into the top three.
Todd Zola considers a new approach to regressing a pitcher's BABIP, which suggests better days should be ahead for Hunter Greene.
Ryan Rufe shares his initial closer rankings for 2024, with Raisel Iglesias earning quite a high spot.
2021 Fantasy Outlook
While it was only 7.2 innings, Topa opened eyes with his performance in 2020. A 17th-round pick by the Pirates in 2013, Topa was out of affiliated ball a couple years later. He spent time in the independent Can-Am league and a year in the Rangers organization before the Brewers took a chance on him late in 2019. Topa spent the first month of the 2020 season at the alternate site, ultimately debuting Sept. 1. The right-hander went on to rack up 12 strikeouts without a walk and only one homer allowed. He throws a bowling-ball sinker that is routinely up at 97-98 and generates a good number of groundballs, and his slider is a real swing-and-miss weapon. Devin Williams has received a lot of attention and deservedly so, but don't sleep on Topa in this Milwaukee bullpen.
More Fantasy News
Bound for IL
Topa will begin the season on the injured list after being diagnosed with knee tendinitis Sunday, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Part of Polanco trade package
Topa, Anthony DeSclafani, Gabriel Gonzalez and Darren Bowen were traded from the Mariners to the Twins on Monday in exchange for Jorge Polanco, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Settles with Seattle
The Mariners and Topa avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $1.25 million contract Thursday, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Notches third save
Topa walked one and struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning Wednesday to record his third save of the season in a 6-3 win over the A's.
ANALYSIS
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Secures fifth win Saturday
Topa (5-4) got the win against the Mets on Saturday, firing 1.1 scoreless innings during which he allowed two hits and did not issue a walk or record a strikeout.
ANALYSIS
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