Twins' Ryan, Buxton put their talent on display on All-Star stage

Tuesday night's MLB All-Star Game couldn't have gone too much better for Joe Ryan and Byron Buxton, the Twins' two representatives in Atlanta.

Ryan got the ball in the bottom of the fourth inning and made quick work of his first All-Star appearance. He struck out the Padres' Manny Machado on four pitches by blowing a 97 mile-per-hour fastball by him. He got Will Smith to pop out on one pitch, then froze Kyle Tucker on a 2-2 fastball that was painted at the bottom of the zone. Ten pitches, three quick outs.

That's just the Joe Ryan Experience, baby! pic.twitter.com/tnrKUHrunT
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) July 16, 2025

Of Ryan's ten pitches, nine of them were four-seam fastballs — three of which resulted in swings and misses. He's averaged 93.4 MPH on his fastball this season, which is up from 91.2 when he debuted with the Twins in 2021. But Ryan brought the juice to the national stage, hitting 96-97 on his six of his pitches on Tuesday.

Joe Ryan showed up to the Twins a few years ago as a rookie averaging 91.2 mph on his fastball and just brought the heat in the ASG pic.twitter.com/1Hr1hH5PaS
— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) July 16, 2025

At one point, four American League Central pitchers had appeared for the AL, and Ryan was the only one who hadn't allowed a run. Tarik Skubal, Kris Bubic, and Casey Mize combined to allow all six runs scored by the NL in the first six innings. (Two other pitchers from the division did end up making scoreless appearances).

It was a strong showing by Ryan, a deserving All-Star who probably shouldn't have needed to get in as a replacement player. He's been outstanding all season for the Twins, who have dealt with injuries and poor performance from other key members of their rotation.

Under team control for two more seasons after this one, Ryan — who was acquired from the Rays for Nelson Cruz four years ago — looks like a long-term building block for the Twins. With that said, his value has also never been higher than it is right now, and he could fetch a huge haul if the Twins were to go into sell mode.

Joe Ryan says a trade would be 'exciting' but leaving Twins would be 'sad'

Buxton, who should've been the AL's starting center fielder but was let down by the fan voting process, took over for Javier Baez in the bottom of the fifth inning. He caught a couple balls in center and then lined out to the left-field corner in his first plate appearance. It was a good swing, but the ball just got in on his hands a bit.

Buxton came up to the plate a second time in the ninth inning, with one out and the AL down 6-4. On the second pitch from Padres closer Robert Suarez, he lined a 99 mile-per-hour fastball down the first-base line and showed off his elite speed by cruising into second base with a double. Buxton then scored easily when the next batter, Bobby Witt Jr., doubled down the same line. He had sparked a rally that led to the AL tying the game and forcing extra innings, which meant the first-ever Home Run Derby tiebreaker (the NL won).

Byron Buxton all star double! pic.twitter.com/yOmLYp6hLc
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) July 16, 2025

In two career All-Star Games, Buxton is 2 for 4 with a homer, a double, and two runs scored. Not bad.

It was quite the successful week for Buxton in his home state of Georgia. He put together a very respectable showing in Monday night's Derby, then followed it up with a hit in the game itself. Baseball fans across the country got a glimpse of what has made Buxton so special for the Twins this season. They also got a reminder that he's not going anywhere.

Ryan and Buxton will look to continue their incredible seasons and help push the Twins towards the playoffs when the second half begins on Friday night in Colorado.

Joe Ryan says a trade would be 'exciting' but leaving Twins would be 'sad'

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