HOUSTON -- Everyone always laughs.

It doesn’t matter who it is. It could be an opponent or a teammate, but if any hitter is randomly asked the question, “What is the approach against someone like Jhoan Duran?” before they can begin to form an answer, they can’t help but chuckle.

It’s not out of mockery -- it’s quite the opposite. Guardians outfielder Myles Straw saw two 104-mph pitches in one at-bat against Duran on June 2, and was left sitting in the back of the clubhouse with a dumbfounded smirk on his face, trying to digest what just happened. When Twins outfielder Jordan Luplow was asked the same question about his teammate on Friday, he cackled, knowing there’s no way to properly prepare.

Twins fans have been able to watch Duran mow down opponents in the Majors over the last two seasons. Yet on the national scale, the 25-year-old from the Dominican Republic is overwhelmingly underrated. But with at least three games slated against the Astros in the 2023 ALDS, that has potential to change.

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For those of you who may just be getting acquainted with the flamethrower, Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers described him best: “He’s a goofy kid that has some extreme talent.”

So far in Duran's career, “extreme” has been a drastic understatement. Here’s a breakdown of his three-pitch arsenal in each offering's simplest form.

Heater: In today’s game, throwing 100 mph isn’t all that unique. In fact, 64 pitchers across MLB reached triple digits at least once this season. But even in a time when guys have learned how to prepare their bodies in a way that allows them to hit these speeds more consistently, Duran takes velocity to a whole new level.

Duran owns 10 of the 11 fastest pitches thrown this season, maxing out at 104.8 mph. Only Toronto’s Jordan Hicks sneaked in at No. 6 on this list with a 104.3 heater. The rest, all clocking in at 103.9 mph or higher, belong to Duran. And those 10 pitches aren’t flukes. The 457 four-seamers he threw this year averaged 101.8 mph, ranking in Statcast’s elite 100th percentile in fastball velocity.

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Splitter (or the “Splinker”): A hitter must be ready for 104 mph at any point during the at-bat. But what happens when it looks like a triple-digit heater is coming your way, but then it suddenly just plummets to the earth toward Duran's arm side?

Splitters are categorized as “offspeed pitches,” but when Duran’s averages 98.4 mph, it seems wrong to use that label. He uses a split-fingered grip, but throws it as hard as he can, creating a mix of a splitter and sinker (hence, the “splinker"). It’s an offering unlike any other in the Majors today.

“There's nobody else in the world that does what [Duran] does,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He goes at hitters with things -- they probably don't know exactly what they're looking at either because they haven't seen it before either -- and he usually comes out on top.”

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Curve: If it wasn’t enough to have to worry about the velocity, hitters need to also be aware of the 87.7 mph curveball that he’s mixed in 27.7% of the time this season. In 63 at-bats against the pitch, he’s seen 37 strikeouts, while holding hitters to a .159 average.

“That’s why he gets the silly swings that he does on the curveball,” Jeffers said.

Each game, the goal for Minnesota is to get the ball to Duran at the end of the night. He hasn’t had a ton of big league experience, pitching in 57 contests last year (owning a 1.86 ERA) and 59 this season (pitching to a 2.45 ERA). He dealt with a little more failure this season, which, ultimately, has made him better even if the numbers are higher.

“I’m being more consistent and attacking more of the zone that I use on my pitches [than last year],” Duran said through team interpreter Mauricio Ortiz.

It’s led to him having a maturity well beyond his years. He recorded the save in his first playoff game on Tuesday, walking one batter and striking out two. The next night, he picked up save No. 2 with a scoreless inning and three strikeouts.

The moment wasn’t too big. His stuff was just as electric. And the Twins know if they can get him the ball with the lead, they have a great chance of enjoying the last laugh.

“I think all of us were really happy to see him just not let the stage overwhelm him and just do exactly what we needed to do out there,” Jeffers said. “He’s gonna play a huge role for us if we want to accomplish the goals we’ve set in front of us.”