Inside The Twins

Snubbed? Byron Buxton not among AL OF finalists to start All-Star game

Buxton, who is having a great season, should still have a great chance to be selected as a reserve.
Will Ragatz|
Jun 25, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton (25) celebrates his single against the Seattle Mariners in the sixth inning at Target Field.
Jun 25, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton (25) celebrates his single against the Seattle Mariners in the sixth inning at Target Field. | Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

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Minnesota Twins

Major League Baseball announced the finalists for starting spots in the 2025 All-Star Game on Thursday, as determined by fan voting. Twins star Byron Buxton is not one of the four American League outfielders up for two remaining berths.

The Yankees' Aaron Judge was the top overall vote getter in the AL in Phase 1, so he's automatically a starter. The next four leading vote-getters among AL outfielders are the Tigers' Javier Baez and Riley Greene, the Guardians' Steven Kwan, and the Angels' Mike Trout. They advance to Phase 2, where the top two vote-getters among that quartet will earn starting roles.

Buxton didn't get enough votes to remain in the mix, which is a shame because his production is arguably deserving of a starting spot. Here's a look at how he compares to the four finalists, with stats updated prior to Thursday's games around the league:

Byron Buxton compared to the four AL OF All-Star finalists.
Byron Buxton compared to the four AL OF All-Star finalists. | stathead.com

Among that group, Buxton is tied for the lead in home runs and is the sole leader in stolen bases, slugging percentage, and OPS. He's essentially tied for second in Baseball Reference's WAR metric. But if you look at Fangraphs' version of WAR, Buxton's 3.1 trails only Judge among AL outfielders. Greene is at 2.9 and Kwan is at 2.4 in fWAR. And Buxton has that advantage despite playing 12 fewer games than Kwan and 16 fewer than Greene.

There's no statistical case whatsoever for Baez or Trout to be considered over Buxton, but that's the downside of fan voting.

Buxton should still wind up playing in the All-Star game, which will be in his home state of Georgia in a few weeks. Six total outfielders will make it from the AL — three starters and three reserves. The reserves will be chosen by a combination of player ballots and the Commissioner's Office, not a fan vote. It would be an inexcusable snub if he doesn't earn one of those three spots.

Assuming he's selected, it'll be Buxton's second career All-Star nod. He previously made it in 2022.

Player ballots and the Commissioner's Office will also determine the 12 pitchers in each league who make the All-Star Game. The Twins' Joe Ryan and Jhoan Duran are both making a case to be selected.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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