Watch: Minnesota native Gus Varland finds out he made MLB roster

Varland is a native of St. Paul, Minnesota. After graduating from North St. Paul High School he pitched at Division II Concordia University in St. Paul. He then pitched in the Northwoods League (amateur wood bat league comparable to the Cape Cod League) for the Willmar Stingers in west-central Minnesota 

He was selected in the 14th round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the Oakland Athletics and played two years in the minors before the 2020 minor league season was wiped out by the pandemic. He then joined the Dodgers and pitched at Double-A for them in 2021 and 2022 before the Brewers selected him in the Rule 5 draft in December. 

As Seth Stohs of Brewer Fanatic noted following the Rule 5 draft, Varland saw his fastball and slider velocity increase when he transitioned from a starting pitcher to a reliever, with his heater clocked as high as 98 mph. 

Louie Varland, meanwhile, will begin the 2023 season at Triple-A St. Paul where he'll be one of the primary minor-league candidates to assume a starting rotation spot if one opens up at the big league level for the Twins.